A coalition of product testers, software developers and media representatives has joined to form a new organization with the aim of standardizing the testing and rating of Internet security programs.

The Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO) counts among its members more than 40 security experts, product testers and members of the media from around the world.

“Members of AMTSO believe that the new, unified approach will ultimately benefit computer users who use product reviews and other test results to help choose internet security software. Adoption of the standards by testers and publications will be voluntary, and AMTSO plans to eventually provide public feedback on the level of compliance with such standards, and to help assess the quality of published product reviews,” the official AMTSO news release states.

It’s also the first time that virtually all of the major consumer/SOHO security vendors have united behind such a cause. Industry leaders McAfee and Symantec (Norton) are prominent on the membership list, along with AGV, F-Secure, Kaspersky, Panda, Sophos and Trend Micro.

For complete details on AMTSO and its mission visit the official Web site.