Cable & Wireless Optus has joined forces with The Northern Territory University to announce $160,000 in research and development initiatives for e-commerce related activities.

Work on the two projects will commence this year with the first project investigating secure electronic payment technology to help local businesses and the Northern Territory Government improve e-commerce transactions.

The second project will look at improving the way that spatial data, such as maps, is presented on the world wide web.

Matti Urvet, Manager Northern Territory, Cable & Wireless Optus said the projects are designed to enhance local innovation.

"We are delighted to be working with the Northern Territory Government and The Northern Territory University on developing technologies, which will help Territorians embrace the information age," he said.

Professor Ron McKay, Vice-Chancellor, The Northern Territory University said that the research and development initiatives will be of significant value.

"The University is very pleased to be able to provide this service to Optus, demonstrating our capacity for research in emerging technologies," he said.

As part of these initiatives, Optus will be working with Dr Ian Roberts from the School of Information at NTU and with Professor Ed Dawson from the Information Security Research Centre at Queensland University.

Matti Urvet said investigating ways of making e-commerce transactions even more secure would be a great benefit to local business while the mapping project could help many organisations in the Northern Territory.

"Typically maps are very large computer files and are often difficult to view and download. This research will help improve the way maps are presented on websites.

"For example, land managers can gain a better understanding of an area's geographic features while tourist operators could access better maps of parks and tourist sites.

"An application for health authorities could be gaining a more detailed understanding of the geographic distribution of disease so that they can determine how best to use their resources," Mr Urvet said.

For more information:
Louise Ingram
Cable & Wireless Optus
Tel: (02) 9342 5042