Leading Japanese telecom and technology companies said Tuesday they have begun joint research on a new electronic commerce system using high-speed fiber-optic networks.

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said they have each worked on next-generation network technologies.

NTT has worked on information-sharing platforms and commercial space operation technologies making use of optic networks.

Hitachi has developed various related technologies such as network server systems that will support optic services. Matsushita has developed network appliances compatible with high-speed optic networks.

Combining their knowhow, the companies are working together to create an advanced e-commerce system dubbed Hikari Commerce Services, they said.

They said the joint project has two aims -- to create core protocols to enable interactive connections linking terminals and service systems via optic networks, and to invite interested business partners to help develop the e-commerce environment.

The e-commerce system is geared to overcome problems with existing e-commerce system such as users having a hard time locating specific products, the companies said.

The partners plan to publish the protocol specifications in April and invite a broad range of home appliance and server makers to take part in tests to confirm the new system's effectiveness.