Travel Departures: Zloty zeroes

ONE OF Europe's softest currencies, the Polish zloty, is to knock four zeroes off its hyperinflated denominations from next New Year's Day: instead of getting 33,000 to the pounds you will get 3.3. (At present you only need pounds 30 to become a millionaire in Poland.) The Central Bank in Warsaw's aim is to restore the dignity of its currency: zloty translates as 'gold', an irony not lost on the locals. If you have a billion or two of the old money under your mattress, you have two years to spend or change it. Meanwhile, visitors to Poland are still being fleeced by black marketeers offering worthless Yugoslav dinars in exchange for hard currency.