Stockholm - Sweden may have rejected introducing the joint European currency, but that has not prevented a small southern Swedish town from introducing the euro as a parallel currency as of January 1.

"This is a sign of the times," Peter Kovacs of Hoganas town council told local radio.

"Hoganas is a tourist resort with many tourists. They think it is strange that their money is not accepted even when they have used it throughout Europe," Kovacs added.

In the 2003 national referendum 56 per cent of inhabitants in Hoganas voted for the euro, but a national majority voted against.

Hoganas, in the north-western part of the southern province of Skane, is well known for its ceramics, especially a dark glazed variety often used for jugs.

Visitors can also taste local food in taverns in small fishing communities along the coast.

Some 30 shops and traders in the Kopstaden Hoganas shopping mall association, over half the traders, have so far signed on to the project.

"We think more will join during the year," Christer Kohler, president of the association told the Helsingborgs Dagblad newspaper.

Traders planned to offer a lower exchange rate than the commercial banks. The Swedish krona has recently weakened to the euro.

Hoganas, about a two-hour drive from the Danish capital Copenhagen, is not the first Swedish municipality to accept other tender than the Swedish krona.

Haparanda, some 1,000 kilometres north of the Swedish capital Stockholm, on the Swedish-Finnish border has several years experience with the euro as Finland is a member of the eurozone.

The euro is accepted as payment at Swedish furniture retailer Ikea's Haparanda store, which opened at the end of 2006.

In the 2003 referendum, 56 per cent of Swedish voters said they wanted to keep the krona while 42 per cent favoured the euro. (dpa)