Online marketplace eBay has forged a services and marketing alliance with Internet authentication firm VeriSign. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Under the multi-year agreement, eBay - which facilitated more than $11 billion in gross merchandise sales last year via its online marketplace - will use VeriSign's Authentication Service Bureau (ASB) to authenticate new eBay sellers during the registration process on its site.
ASB is a managed service that uses VeriSign's proven digital trust technology to identify parties in online transactions or communications.
Jeff Jordan, eBay's vice president of US operations, says the move will provide eBay users with the "latest tools designed to shop in a safe, friendly and trusted environment".
The agreement also covers a multi-platform marketing and promotional campaign and the establishment of a new eBay marketplace for highly sought-after domain names.
One of the first marketing and promotional initiatives to be launched under the new alliance will be to promote the sale of registration rights of domain names on eBay to the company's 46 million customer base.