Problems with Sql Server 2005 Merge Replication via WebService

We want to perform a Merge Replication between 2 databases via WebService (SSL).
The relevant Architecture for the Merge Replication is the following:

Our DBA, Moran, made an attempt to configure the publisher and the subscriber according to the following links, without significant success so far:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms345214.aspx
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms152511.aspx
http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=352025&SiteID=1
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms151763.aspx
http://www.eggheadcafe.com/forumarchives/SQLServerreplication/

The error message we receive is: “The Proxy Auto-configuration URL was not found”.

We think that the problem is due to local LAN proxy settings. We got the idea from this post:
http://www.eggheadcafe.com/forumarchives/sqlserverreplication/nov2005/post24306635.asp

Do you have any suggestions on the matter ?

* It’s important to mention that Merge Replication over LAN works without a problem.

Any suggestion or reference will be most appreciated…