CATMAN: Sounds like a good idea!. My current pasport expires in "03." I'm not sure whether computers around the world are going to read that as "1903" or "2003", but I think I'll wait until after the end of next year to renew it. My thinking seems to coincide with State's.
In some 40 years of international travel, I've never seen a case of passport theft. I HAVE been a little concerned about countries where the hotel confiscates the passport on check in and won't return it except under unusual circumstances until check out (what do you do if your cab has an accident?). But, even then, I've never had a real problem.
Of course, I've never been to Rome.