GERMANY has ordered 30 million doses of smallpox vaccine, almost doubling its stocks in case of a terrorist attack, the health ministry announced.

The new order will bring the number of smallpox vaccine shots available in the country to 66 million.

Germany has a population of some 82 million people.

In January, Health Minister Ulla Schmidt said that by the end of the year Germany would build up its stock of smallpox vaccine to 100 million shots.

But Schmidt insisted there was no reason to panic and there was no indication of any serious threat of a smallpox attack.

A number of countries, including the United States, have already announced an increase in their stocks of smallpox vaccinations.

US President George W Bush, who was himself inoculated before Christmas, said hundreds of thousands of US troops and key civilians would also be given the vaccination.