Short Take: VeriSign in French joint venture

VeriSign has created a joint venture called Certplus with major French firms to issue digital certificates in France. Certplus partners include smart card vendor Gemplus, France Telecom, and systems integrator Matra Hautes Technologies, part of Groupe Lagardere. The joint venture now offers Secure Electronic Transactions (SET) certificates for online credit card payments, with other types due by year's end.