Methods, apparatuses, and systems facilitating the deployment, configuration and maintenance of publication/subscription systems within the context of Web service networks. In one embodiment, the present invention provides Web services network system that presents a topic as a routing entity and includes functionality facilitating topic creation, subscription and publication in a manner consistent with the basic modes of Web services development and deployment, allowing such tasks to be approached in an intuitive, cost-effective and manageable manner. In a preferred embodiment, the publication/subscription system functionality according to the present invention is integrated into a distributed Web services network architecture as more fully described below. The Web services network architecture and integrated publication/subscription system according to the present invention can be implemented across any suitable computer network, including a local area network, an intranet or the Internet.