The European Central Bank (ECB) is to launch a new series of Euro banknotes starting with a new €5 note in May next year.

ECB president Mario Draghi said the current notes which were launched on January 1st 2002 would be gradually withdrawn from circulation.

The new notes will include a portrait of Europa - a figure from Greek mythology and the origin of the name of the continent - in the watermark and  hologram.

The rollout of the new notes will take several years to complete.

New security features

The ECB said the new series would benefit from advances in banknote technology since the first series was introduced and that security features have been enhanced.

The new banknotes are to have the same colours and denominations as the the current ones - 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 - but would be "easy to distinguish from the first series".

The new €5 banknote will be unveiled in full on January 10th 2013.

The architectural styles of the different denominations are as follows:

€5: Classical

€10: Romanesque

€20: Gothic

€50: Renaissance

€100: Baroque and rococo

€200: The age of iron and glass architecture

€500: 20th century architecture

Watch a video about the new design below: