Wayland, MA, USA, March 14, 2002 – The Open GIS Consortium, Inc. (OGC) announces that a Call for Participation / Request for Quotation (CFP/RFQ) for the Second Thread of the OGC Web Services Initiative is available for download at http://ip.opengeospatial.org/ows1.2. OWS Thread Set 2 will build on the successful results of previous OGC Interoperability Program initiatives. These initiatives are helping to establish a core set of OpenGIS® Specifications that enable freer access to web services to process and apply geographic information in support of vital government, business, education and research, and consumer needs.During this important initiative, sponsoring organizations, including Lockheed Martin, BAE SYSTEMS, General Dynamics, Northrop-Grumman Information Technology, TASC, the US Environmental Protection Agency and others seek to collaborate with the CFP/RFQ respondents to further shape the common market vision and provide input to technology development activities for OGC Web Services. A primary goal of this collaboration is to extend engineering specifications developed in OWS Thread Set 1 and other initiatives including: OGC Common Architecture, Web Mapping, Imagery Exploitation and Sensor Web specifications.Responses to the CFP/RFQ are due April 12, 2002 at 5:00 PM EDT and the initiative is expected to begin later this year with completion by November 2002. Inquiries related to OWS should be addressed to Mr. Jeff Harrison, Executive Director of OGC Interoperability Programs, jharrison@opengeospatial.org, or (703) 491-9543.The OGC Web Services Initiative is part of OGC's Interoperability Program, a global, collaborative, hands-on engineering and testing program that rapidly delivers proven candidate specifications into OGC's Specification Program, where they are formalized for public release. In OGC's Interoperability Initiatives, international teams of technology providers work together to solve specific geoprocessing interoperability problems posed by the Initiative's sponsoring organizations.OGC is an international industry consortium of more than 230 companies, government agencies and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available interface specifications. OpenGIS® Specifications support interoperable solutions that “geo-enable” the Web, wireless and location-based services, and mainstream IT. The specifications empower technology developers to make complex spatial information and services accessible and useful with all kinds of applications. Visit the OGC website at www.opengeospatial.org .– end –“