Time Warner, AOL And Others Form E-Commerce Coalition

Time Warner Inc., America Online and four other companies with large Internet businesses have joined forces in an attempt to boost consumer confidence in buying products and services via the Internet.The Electronic Commerce and Consumer Protection Group ñ also comprised of Microsoft Corp., IBM, Dell Computer Corp. and Visa USA ñ plans to urge governments to reduce discrepancies between laws in he United States and other nations that might inhibit people from buying items via the Internet. The group will attempt to devise a code of conduct to prevent unscrupulous behavior by Web retailers.The group is the latest industry alliance to try to combat what some Internet companies see as government practices inhibiting the Webís growth. This year, leading companies ranging from IBS to German publisher Bertelsmann AG formed a global group to discourage governments from imposing Internet taxes as well as a European privacy measure that would make it tougher for companies to transmit personal data b their customers via the Internet.