Federal government Web sites will soon begin allowing users to sign in with their account credentials furnished by Google, PayPal and Equifax.
The [Open Identity Exchange](http://www.openidentityexchange.org/) (OIX) debuted today as the certification body to authorize private firms offering Web credentials that meet the security and privacy standards to qualify for use on government sites.
The National Institutes of Health is the first agency accepting outside login credentials on its site.
Verizon is expected to receive its certification process shortly, the group said.
OIX obtained funding through initial grants from the OpenID Foundation and the Information Card Foundation, two groups working to shore up online identity management by streamlining the logins and passwords people use on various Web sites.
“Our hope is that the work of the OIX and other groups will continue to grow and help facilitate more open government participation, as well as improve security on the Internet by reducing password use across Web sites,” Eric Sachs, a senior product manager at Google’s security division, wrote in a blog post.