Microsoft Corp.and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) jointly announced newly proposed guidelines for the Privacy Preferences Project (P3P). The new technology and standards-based solution is designed to accelerate the widespread adoption of P3P. The proposed guidelines, which will be submitted to the W3C, simplify the process by which Web sites of all sizes can post privacy policies. Microsoft and EFF’s proposed P3P guidelines are intended to simplify the process by which P3P-ready privacy policies can be created and posted. A P3P-based privacy statement is an XML document that states the information practices of a Web site or page. The first application of the P3P syntax to privacy statements will be available as a Web-based service called the Privacy Wizard. It is a simple-to-use and easy-to-implement privacy solution for Web site owners who have limited technical and policy resources. The Privacy Wizard was developed by Microsoft and TRUSTe, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building consumer trust on the Internet, and will be available by the end of the week through MSN LinkExchange ). MSN LinkExchange is a provider of services that helps small businesses and Web site owners promote, improve and earn revenues from their Web sites. More information about the development and deployment of practical solutions for online privacy can be found in a case study, co-authored by EFF, Microsoft, and Ernst and Young, titled “Architecture Is Policy: Cooperative Development as a Means for a Standards-Based Implementation for Privacy on the Internet” www.eff.org/privacypaper/, www.microsoft.com

IntraNet Solutions, Inc.announced the immediate availability of the Intra.doc! Developer’s Kit (IDK) that helps organizations customize Intra.doc! instances on an intranet, extranet or the Internet. The IDK helps organizations get a customized Intra.doc! system up and running using ActiveX or command line interfaces, a scripting language and a “component” wizard. In addition, IntraNet Solutions is announcing Intra.doc! Version 3.6 that includes support for SQL Server 7, PDF Watermarking and other enhanced functionality. www.intranetsol.com

UWI.Com, announced a free addition to its InternetForms System product line that provides support for Netscape Certificate Management System 4.0 and Communicator. The InternetForms System is the first third-party solution offering digitally-signed XML documents compatible with Netscape Communicator and Netscape Certificate Management System. UWI.Com’s InternetForms System is a suite of XML software that allows organizations to conduct secure, verifiable business-to-business e-commerce transactions on the Internet. InternetForms are based on Extensible Forms Description Language (XFDL), the XML protocol for legally-binding transactions on the Internet. Users can sign InternetForms using digital signatures in either Netscape or Microsoft browsers, providing a secure transaction record that offers non-repudiation. www.uwi.comMiva Introduces Miva Commerce4/5/99 Miva Corporation, introduced the Miva Commerce Server, a complete e-commerce solution designed for small- to mid-sized enterprises to enable their Web servers with a application engine, an XML-based scripting language and a browser-based electronic storefront development and management system. The product gives enterprises complete autonomy in the development, deployment and management of robust and scaleable commerce applications, data-driven Web sites and corporate Intranets. The Miva Commerce Server is a fusion of the company’s Miva Merchant v1.2 electronic storefront development and management system and its Miva Empresa v3.6 application engine and is available for the Windows NT and Cobalt RaQ2 platforms. In addition, Miva Corporation has developed a customized installer for the Cobalt RaQ2 platform allowing for ten-second installation of the product for RaQ2 customers. The Miva Commerce Server includes an application engine and enables enterprises with Miva Script, an XML-based scripting language. Once the Miva Commerce Server has been plugged into a Web server, Miva Script files, identified by specific extensions, are automatically parsed and deployed by the engine. In addition, the electronic storefront development and management system included with the product enables non-technical users to create and manage customized commerce sites in a point-and-click interface and offers advanced developers the ability to manipulate application source code (Miva Script) to author complex, highly customized commerce sites. www.miva.com

Glyphica, announced InfoPortal 2.0, the next generation product of its PortalWare product suite. InfoPortal 2.0’s enhanced functionality makes it easy for companies to automatically create personalized extranets, print documents remotely via the Web, immediately convert existing documents and data into Web content and manage and communicate targeted, business-critical information to customers, partners and employees over the Internet. Specifically designed to be used by the non-technical, line-of-business professional, PortalWare automates portions of building and sustaining a portal site and provides content management capabilities. InfoPortal 2.0’s features are designed to specifically benefit large sales and marketing organizations, financial services institutions and publishing companies. www.glyphica.com

InfoAccess Inc. has released the HTML Transit 4 beta to select partners and customers. This release, labeled “The Virtual Webmaster,” automates the creation and maintenance of, Websites from standard business documents. HTML Transit 4 builds Websites from standard business documents that have been created using popular authoring tools such as Office 2000, Lotus SmartSuite Millennium or less traditional tools such as a CrossPad or a scanner. It can also import XML, HTML and PDF files. Transit Templates, Cascading Style Sheets and sophisticated frame layout capabilities facilitate precise control over the look and feel of Web pages generated by HTML Transit. HTML Transit also supports custom tagging and Java, giving Web developers more options when developing complex corporate Websites. Using a new technology called Abstraction. HTML Transit analyzes inconsistently styled business documents, infers their structure and creates consistent looking Websites. Tables of contents, indexes, metadata and other reference materials are created automatically providing rich navigational options and search support across virtually unlimited levels of hierarchy. HTML Transit 4 is scheduled for public release in May 1999. Suggested Retail Price for HTML Transit is $495. HTML Transit is available from InfoAccess directly or from select partners and resellers.www.infoaccess.com

Verity, Inc and EarthWeb, Inc. have announced a strategic relationship. The companies stated that EarthWeb is now using Verity as the core information retrieval technology for its Web site, and that together the two companies are looking at ways to use Verity products to package EarthWeb’s information technology content for delivery on corporate networks. www.verity.com

Inxight Software, Inc., announced that AltaVista Company will be using its Hyperbolic Tree technology. The Hyperbolic Tree, is a user interface that allows computer users to navigate through large amounts of information such as web sites and document collections in a visual, intuitive way – unlike the traditional Windows metaphor of opening and closing folders and scrolling up and down to find information. www.inxight.com