Excel to XML conversion program, Visual Basic

Jax Music Supply is an online based guitar and accessories retailer. Started in 2007, we market on a variety of web based platforms including eBay, Amazon, and our website. We are in the process of upgrading our tools to allow easier automation. To that end, we need a bulk upload function for one of our marketplaces. Generally speaking, the software would allow the selection of an Excel worksheet (either Excel 2003-2007 and/or Excel 2010. The Excel sheet would have the necessary information to be uploaded (we will provide example). The program would then convert the information, row by row, to an XML format and submit it to a web service for bulk listing. Return information from the XML submission would need to be logged into either database or excel file. Graphics will need to be transmitted as well. We would like to be able to provide a URL to a graphic image in the spreadsheet the program should be able to grab the image at that URL that can then be converted into base64 as a CDATA type in the XML stream. The solution needs to be coded in Visual Basic 2008. We will need a copy of the source code when complete. The code must be well documented with a general description of the class/module/function (at the beginning) including what it does. Code should be well documented with logical variable names and a comment describing what the variable is used for (obvious variables such as iCounter are exempt from this requirement). Failure to document code properly will result in poor feedback. We have tested example code for connecting to the webservice that will be provided upon acceptance.