Some vehicles crossing land borders are already equipped with radio frequency tags that transmit data about the driver, including photographs, to immigration and customs officers, much as EZPass technology works at tollbooths. Homeland Security officials envision eventually using similar technology to allow drivers and passengers to transmit their personal information instantly while crossing the border.

Under Accenture's plan, U.S. Visit would create "virtual" folders for each foreign traveler entering by air, sea or land that would electronically store visa application information, fingerprints, photographs, entry and exit dates, and the purpose of the visits. For travelers with a student visa, for example, the folder would also include relevant details such as the school and period of enrollment.

"They selected us because we had a clear understanding for their vision of the future of border management for this country," said Eric Stange, Accenture's managing partner for defense and homeland security.

Accenture will create a chief privacy officer because the system will give inspectors unprecedented access to travelers' personal information. Originally conceived as an immigration program, U.S. Visit is now being designed to integrate immigrations databases and to share information about millions of foreigners with a host of federal and state agencies.

The program will enable Homeland Security officials to share information about individuals with the Departments of Justice, Transportation and Commerce and the FBI. Officials said they would only share information with other agencies as part of a specific criminal investigation or "authorized purpose," such as the agency's Citizenship and Immigration Services, which processes citizenship applications.

David L. Sobel, general counsel for Electronic Privacy Information Center, said the government should be more clear about the conditions under which it shares people's information. "The large-scale collection and sharing of information is a serious concern," he said. "Its always inevitable that once one agency has a large collection of information, it's really only a matter of time [before] that information" is sent throughout the government.

The contract is the largest yet awarded by the 18-month-old Homeland Security agency and is widely seen as a stepping stone to other big department contracts.

The U.S. Visit program received $367 million for fiscal 2003 and has received $340 million for fiscal 2004.

"That's why all of these companies are working so hard to really try to win these contracts," said Philip Finnegan, an analyst for the Teal Group, a defense research firm. "They all really see homeland security as a bit of a wild card but a real potential growth area."