Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison said Tuesday that he has donated Oracle software to the US government to create a database for national security. After the 11 September terrorist attacks, Ellison has championed the need for the United States to create a national standard for identification cards. During his keynote speech at Oracle's OpenWorld customer conference in San Francisco, Ellison said he has delivered Oracle's 9i database management software to a US government agency for national security, but he declined to give further details, such as which agency or for what usage. "We don't run those law enforcement agencies. We just provide them software," he said during a news conference. Ellison had earlier offered to donate its database software, but charge for maintenance and upgrades as part of his goal of creating a national ID standard. Ellison has suggested airport security would be improved by requiring travellers to provide their names and social security numbers to airport security personnel. Security personnel could then compare the travellers' thumbprints with those stored in a national security database to ensure accurate identification. When Oracle started up nearly 25 years ago, it built databases for the Central Intelligence Agency. Database management software allows businesses, Web sites and government agencies to store and manage vast amounts of information. For example, Ellison said, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has more than 80,000 handprints of travellers and foreigners with visas to enter the country. He said national security data is currently housed in multiple databases when it should be grouped together in one central repository. "There is cooperation (among government agencies)," he said. "But there's a lot of data fragmentation." During his news conference, Ellison added that a national standard for identification cards is important for national security reasons. "Our existing IDs should not be easily forged," he said. "Credit cards are based on a set of standards, why doesn't the government?" See the Software News Section for the latest headlines on everything from peer to peer clients to Office software and beyond. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Click on the TalkBack button and go to the Telecoms forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom. And read other letters.