Venezuelans have set their clocks back half an hour as the country adopts its own time zone.

Hugo Chavez (file photo)

Speaking ahead of Sunday time change, President Hugo Chavez told reporters that he doesn't care if people think he is crazy. He said the new time will go ahead anyway.

The Venezuelan leader has said the time change will give schoolchildren more daylight.

The change was first announced several weeks ago but had been delayed for technical reasons.

Clocks will be set to Universal Time (UTC) minus 4.5 hours. The change is likely to affect time/date entries on computers and other devices.

Several other countries have time zones that set them apart from other nations. They include Afghanistan, Burma, India and Iran.