A license plate in a certain state consists of 4 digits, not necessarily distinct, and 2 letters, also not necessarily distinct. These six characters may appear in any order, except that the two letters must appear next to each other. How many distinct license plates are possible?
<spanclass=′latex−bold′>(A)</span>104⋅262<spanclass=′latex−bold′>(B)</span>103⋅263<spanclass=′latex−bold′>(C)</span>5⋅104⋅262<spanclass=′latex−bold′>(D)</span>102⋅264<spanclass=′latex−bold′>(E)</span>5⋅103⋅263