The cards, described as entitlement cards by the executive, will give young people access to various benefits as well as carrying information about them.
Holders of the cards, which are part of the Dialogue Youth modernising government initiative, will receive discounts on items such as CDs and cinema tickets. The cards also allow cashless transactions, and act as proof of age. They can also carry information such as young people's medical records.
Civil liberties groups criticised the scheme, claiming it lays the groundwork for compulsory ID cards.
But a Scottish Executive spokesman said: "There is no compulsion involved. This is not an ID card - it is an entitlement card. It can't be Big Brother-like if it is entirely up to individuals whether to have one."
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