They failed to check that their e-commerce system worked as intended.

FORBES: E-Commerce: One Simple Test to Avoid Going Broke

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports expanding the E-Verify system, which is now used by a fraction of companies, though some states require all businesses to use it to clear new hires.

WSJ: Senators in Immigration Talks Mull IDs for All Workers

The holy grail for e-commerce, however, would be a system in which users had permanent digital certificates on their computers containing details of age, citizenship, sex, professional credentials, and so on.

ECONOMIST: Stop signs on the web

Instead, the Department of Commerce and e-commerce firms are pushing for a different solution: in effect, a new system of private laws, which would avoid the requirement to abide by the laws of the countries where their customers live.

ECONOMIST: Stop signs on the web

The danger for Europe is that its postal system is left behind as e-commerce grows.

ECONOMIST: Europe��s last post

The next day, they met for smoothies in Palo Alto and came up with the idea that became PayPal: a system of electronic payment designed to make e-commerce easy, consistent, and secure.

NEWYORKER: No Death, No Taxes

The low-tech system is suddenly set to star in the next act for e-commerce, where wireless meets the Internet.

FORBES: Scanned Goods

These personal transaction terminals will be tied into a delivery and payment system that promises to make 7-Elevens a depot for e-commerce.

FORBES: I Got It @7-Eleven

For all the billions of dollars being spent and collected online, the code at the core of e-commerce remains highly fragmented--and that creates communication breakdowns within the overall system.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The system will be particularly easy to implement for merchants who already enable PayPal payment on e-commerce websites.

FORBES: PayPal Wants You To Ditch Your Wallet