Through the tie-up, Infosys aims to expedite the adoption and deployment of secure and complete e-commerce solutions to customers worldwide.

CyberSource vice-president Steve Klebe said in a statement that the alliance would thrive for reliable deployment of e-commerce solutions on time and on budget.

Infosys has built up enough expertise in providing e-commerce solutions integrated with back-end systems, which could shorten time-to-market cycles.Infosys seems to have gained an iniative throughthe venture since it can now leverage on services and technologies from an established company.The company is expected to focus on internet traders with fully integrated systems from the CyberSource stable.

Infosys has already set up a venture, Infosys Internet Consulting Practice (IICP), which designs and builds high-performance, strong and secure information infrastructure for electronic commerce.

Terming the Cybersource technologies as a unique combination of e-commerce expertise, an Infosys spokesman said the company can now meet any rapid change in the technology cycles or taste of the customers.

CyberSource has provided e-commerce services to more than 400 internet merchants worldwide. The company's main products and services include Internet Commerce SuitesSM, offering merchant-controlled, real-time services including payment services, tax services, risk management services, distribution control services, and fulfillment management services. It has customers like Compaq Computer andShopping.com.

Infosys has been spearheading its e-commerce services through IICP. This $120-million company earns roughly three per cent of the business from its internet practices.

IICP also executes consulting and software development projects in the area of e-commerce. At present, Infosys is doing a major project for an online retailer that offers over 40,000 products from more than 400 manufacturers through its online stores on the internet and AOL.

The project seeks to provide a convenient shopping experience that incorporates traditional department store and mail-order features into an interactive, easy-to-use and compelling online environment.

Infosys is enabling the company to undertake online catalog publishing, online payment systems, order processing systems, EDI interfaces and customer support systems. It has also developed the entire electronics.net site -- a new e-commerce web site for selling electronics on the internet.