The supermarket plans to have the checkouts in 15 stores by the end of 2005.
A spokeswoman for Asda said the service's trial had been successful, adding that consumers had 'responded well to the new technology'.
The supermarket has been relatively slow to introduce self-service checkouts, which have already been tested by Tesco, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer.
The system relies on shoppers scanning items themselves, packing them in carrier bags and paying for their purchase through an electronic system.
The machines reduce fraud by ensuring the total weight of the contents in customers' bags matches the items they have scanned.
The benefits of the system include being able to fit more checkouts in a smaller space. Some analysts also believe the checkouts will enable more supermarkets to offer 24-hour opening. Another possibility is that advertising could run on the digital self-service screens.
Separately, Asda is boosting its e-commerce business with the launch of an online photo shop providing a digital picture printing service.
The Click and Collect service, which launches this month, has been pioneered by Wal-Mart in the US. It will enable customers to upload digital images online and collect them from their local store within an hour.
Asda is also to roll out its in-store TV concept to 250 of its stores (Marketing, 7 September). When complete, the TV network will be one-and-a-half times bigger than that operated by Tesco.
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