Motorists in six Mississippi cities this month can renew licenses at kiosks, which would operate similar to automated teller machines.

Public Safety Commissioner Steve Simpson announced Thursday that the kiosks will be located in Jackson, Tupelo, Olive Branch, Hattiesburg, Gulfport and D’Iberville.

“This new technology makes the renewal and replacement process simple, plus gives Mississippians the option of visiting one of our driver services’ buildings or one of the kiosk machines,” Simpson told the Oxford Eagle in an interview before a Jackson news conference.

“We will start with seven, but Mississippians should expect to see these machines across the state in 2010.”

Simpson said the self-service kiosks work like a bank’s automated teller machine. Customers can swipe their expired driver’s license or credit card. Limited information will appear on a touch screen and then users can verify information on the driver’s license, take a new picture and pay for the renewal.

Simpson said the kiosks have safety features to protect each user’s identity.

“The one-to-one facial recognition technology compares the photo on the driver’s license to the new photo of the person standing in front of the kiosk,” he said. “If they don’t match, you can’t renew a license at the kiosk.”

He said the kiosks will be placed in common areas around town, including courthouses, shopping centers and grocery stores.

Simpson says the kiosk can’t be used if a home address or other key information has changed since the last renewal.