  The deconfinement transition region between hadronic matter and quark-gluon
plasma is studied for finite volumes. Assuming simple model equations of state
and a first order phase transition, we find that fluctuations in finite volumes
hinder a sharp separation between the two phases around the critical
temperature, leading to a rounding of the phase transition. For reaction
volumes expected in heavy ion experiments, the softening of the equation of
state is reduced considerably. This is especially true when the requirement of
exact color-singletness is included in the QGP equation of state.
