"We have had an invitation from Ford but it just came in and we have not yetgot to the stage of considering it yet," said a Toyota spokesman. "We onlyjust began considering GM's offer."

The competing systems aim to connect car makers and suppliers in electronicnetworks allowing both to slash costs.

Ford Motor Co has teamed up with Oracle Corp, the world's leading databasemanagement software supplier, to build its AutoXchange site. Ford has alsoapproached Nissan Motor, Japan's second-largest auto maker, Renault SA, thelargest French auto maker, and other European makers about joining itssystem.

General Motors, the world's largest car maker, is working with Commerce One,which makes software to help companies to automate purchases over theInternet, to develop its TradeXchange system. GM has also asked Honda MotorCo, Japan's third-largest auto maker, and possibly Nissan as well toparticipate in its site.

A senior GM official said on Monday that the US automaker is open tooffering the Japanese automotive giant an equity stake in its electroniccommerce website to get it to join.

Asked on Monday if GM was prepared to give up a piece of TradeXchange tobring in Toyota, Mark Hogan, president of E-GM, GM's E-commerce unit said:"We are open from a business model standpoint to consider that."

Toyota, which pioneered the just-in-time parts supply system thatrevolutionised auto making in the 1980s, has been working on its ownInternet-based parts ordering system, and has signalled its reluctance tojoin a multi-company system.

Tadaaki Jagawa, Toyota executive vice president for information technology,said recently that while Toyota did not intend to stick to Toyota-onlymethods just for the sake of independence, it is sceptical about thebenefits of a cross-company scheme.

In particular, Jagawa said he was concerned that corporate secrets could behacked into or deduced from orders and questioned the competitive merits ofstandardising parts with other auto makers.

Jagawa said that Toyota plans to continue working on its own system. Still,Toyota and GM officials plan to meet every three months to go over detailsof how GM's plan would work and Toyota will likely give GM an answer withinthe year.