I am confused. Hold on, I feel a stupid question coming on...According to my Fodors Italy2006 book the wall outlets in Italy take plugs with "either two or three round prongs". My convertor/adaptor that I use when I go to Europe only has two round prongs, anyone know if this will be a problem?

I have never seen a 3 prong plug in Italy.
To my knowlege - in Europe, only UK uses 3 progs plugs

They usually have 3 prong sockets, but your 2 prong will plug in and you will have no problem.

Mike

Check here: http://www.travel-accessories.com/store/electric.htm

After a look at the standards chart, i see there are indeed 3 prongs plugs in Italy.
I never noticed it : my french 2 prongs appliances fit perfectly in their outlets (i just never took note of the 3rd hole)

Those are the marvels of standardization. Your plugs fit everywhere in Europe, except for some small islands off the coast of Europe where they surprisingly still dream of winning the worldcup with only one Beckham and lots of untalented and slow players. ;-). Well, people are allowed to have dreams.

The concept is no different from the US, where the standard wall outlet as has 3 holes, but many cords only have 2 prongs.

2 prong cords will fit into 3 hole outlets.

3-hole wall sockets have an extra connection for earth, which some appliances require (such as washing machines, fridges etc). As most small appliances like chargers and shavers are double-insulated, there's usually no need to use a separate earth connection. Two-prong plugs will fit into 3-hole sockets.

Thanks everyone. I leave in a week and my anxiety is kicking in!

who says we need more than one? [beckham that it!]