3i has made a “multimillion dollar” investment in a UK ecommerce start-up that helps small companies flog their products online. The product, developed by Cobham, Surrey-based Actinic Software, retails at the knockdown price of £349 (EX VAT) and includes “all of the technology” required to implement an Internet commerce solution. A tall claim indeed. But Actinic Catalogue seems to contain the Web basics –- including web site catalogue publication and maintenance, shopping cart, and 128-bit encryption for secure orders. Actinic will use the 3i money to launch a reseller recruitment drive. The 10-strong company notes an “strong upswing in demand for ecommerce solutions in the run up to Christmas”. As is common with such deals, the exact size of the 3i equity investment (stake money and percentage owned )was not revealed. ® Click for more stories