The United States Postal Service has decided to decorate 400 mail-collection boxes in 200 cities so that they look like R2-D2, the robot from the 'Star Wars' movies. The Service will shrink-wrap the boxes as part of a promotion for a stamp that commemorates the 30th anniversary of the first 'Star Wars' film. Officials at the Postal Service say this is the first time that mail-collection boxes have been used as props in a marketing program. There are 280,000 collection boxes nationwide, and they are one of the most recognizable symbols of the post office. The boxes 'dressed' to look like R2-D2 will be located in downtown areas and other prominent locations in the selected cities for a period of three weeks. March 28, 2007 is the date for the introduction of the 'Star Wars' anniversary stamp. Nearly all commemorative stamps issued by the post office have the same price as other stamps, but most of the special-issue stamps, which are sold to collectors and other fans, are not used for postage. This means additional profits for the Postal Service. Every year the post office prints approximately 35 billion stamps. These have a value of $14 billion. Officials at the post office say that the deal to promote the stamp with R2-D2 'clones' does not involve payment to Lucasfilm Ltd., the firm that owns the 'Star Wars' brand. And the cost of shrink-wrapping the 400 mail-collection boxes is minimal, according to a spokesperson for the Postal Service.