VeriSign, Inc. announced a range of XML-based specifications and services designed to enable enterprise developers, B2B exchanges, independent software vendors (ISVs) and service providers to link their applications to Web identity, online authentication, authorization, digital signature, encryption and payment services. These specifications are being introduced in conjunction with today’s release of the XML Key Management Specification (XKMS) by VeriSign, Microsoft and webMethods. Currently, developers choosing to enable applications to handle digital keys for authentication and digital signatures are often required to purchase and integrate specialized toolkits from a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) software vendor which only interoperate with that vendor’s PKI offerings. With the new XKMS specification, those functions are no longer built into the application but instead reside in servers that can be accessed via easily programmed XML transactions. XKMS is also compatible with the emerging standards for Web Services Description Language (WSDL) and Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). More information on XKMS can be found at: www.verisign.com/developer/xml. The new XML specifications are designed to work with VeriSign’s existing Web identity, authentication, payment and validation services and greatly simplify interoperability of e-commerce transactions. In addition to XKMS, VeriSign has developed a suite of XML specifications. Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP) supports an XML-based management utility for vendors of online identity services. EPP will enable VeriSign’s accredited registrar partners to sell domain names, telephone numbers and future identification assets through a new extensible protocol. VeriSign is working with multiple industry partners, including Netegrity, to develop S2ML, a common language for sharing authentication and authorization services through XML documents. VeriSign’s XML Pay is an XML specification for payment requests and responses in a distributed, web-based payment transaction environment. The typical user of XML Pay is an Internet merchant or merchant aggregator who wants to dispatch consumer credit card, debit card, corporate purchase card, automated clearinghouse (ACH), or other payment requests to a financial processing network. www.verisign.com