Opinity Inc has launched a "personal reputation service" that allows users to review and rate the online behavior of others and evaluate and manage their own reputations, including controlling the level of disclosure of their personal data. Users can look up the reputation of a seller on an auction site like eBay or other marketplace, and the company says its service can be used in other peer-to-peer and social applications, like online dating.

The service uses social networking components, something auction site Overstock uses in its online auction marketplace along with conventional eBay-like feedback ratings. Opinity users can write reviews and testimonials for other Opinity users. They can also create a "personal network," a group of friends or acquaintances whom they know from their online activities.

Opinity CEO Ted Cho, Ph.D, said, "Lax security and increasing complaints of fraud invites the governments to intervene in Internet commerce in draconian ways, which wouldn't be good for anyone. The industry's goal should be effective, non-intrusive self-regulation. By partnering with Opinity, companies give their customers the ability to do quick reference checks on others with whom they may wish to interact or transact business. This lowering of risk, in turn, builds credibility and trust among customers and benefits all companies doing business on the Internet."

The site has just launched and has not yet provided a way for users to prove identities on marketplaces without entering their marketplace passwords into Opinity. CEO Ted Cho said once the Opinity system can verify the User ID and password by signing in to the marketplace, it discards the password. The company is talking with marketplaces and hopes to license its service to them.

Opinity raised $2.7 million in funding from SoftBank Ventures Korea, Solborn Investment, Korea Investment Corporation, Valmore Partners and angel investors

http://www.opinity.com