SANTA CLARA, Calif. — In the wake of the debate over Intel's use of ID numbers in its upcoming Pentium III processors, National Semiconductor Corp. has tipped plans to take a separate approach to security for e-commerce. The company is in early discussions with at least two other manufacturers to define a standard for a smartcard-like mobile e-commerce device that could be used across a broad range of computers, peripherals and information appliances.

While National is not ready to detail its plans, it did sketch out its intentions and explained why it thinks Intel's plan to embed an ID number in a Pentium is a step in the wrong direction.

"The whole idea of e-commerce is much larger than the PC," said Steve Tobak, vice president of corporate marketing and communications at National (Santa Clara, Calif.). "It makes sense to add security for e-commerce but the user has to maintain control of his or her privacy. The security device should move with the person, not the processor. And it has to be an open standard."

National hopes to spark work on a standard that could cover the physical form factor, protocol and encryption/decryption scheme that such a mobile security device would use. "Our intent is to supply the [associated] silicon in the system," Tobak said.

No agreements on any such standard have been set, and National is still seeking partners for its effort, Tobak said. The work is initially being based on a combination of internal and external security technologies, he added.

"This is a big deal because it will involve many types of manufacturers," Tobak said.

Intel drew fire from privacy advocacy groups recently when it announced it would use ID numbers on its Pentium III. Several groups, including the Electronic Privacy Information Center (Washington), said they will boycott Intel's products until it removes the feature.