The new UK Passport, which includes a picture of the Giant's Causeway, has been unveiled to the public for the first time.

There is no change in the charge for the new 10-year adult passport (£77-50p) but the holder's identity pages have been moved to the front of the book in a bid to reduce the time taken to pass through border controls and to bring the UK passport into line with others from Europe and the United States.

There are now two photographs of the individual, with the main photo-page covered in a transparent film containing several layers of holograms.

Among the other changes, the electronic chip, which was introduced four years ago to hold personal details, will be hidden inside the passport cover, making it harder to replace or alter without causing obvious damage to the document.

As well as the Giant's Causeway, the new passport contains symbols of the UK's typical weather, such as sundials, windmills, clouds, lightning and a compass to enhance security in the "universally trusted document", the Identity and Passport Service said. Each page includes a weather symbol, but the outlook is predominantly cloudy, with just four of the 28 pages forecasting the sun in a cloudless sky.

Other famous images in addition to the Giant's Causeway include the White Cliffs of Dover and Ben Nevis.

The £400m 10-year contract to produce the new passports begins production in October.