a perl newbie

I was recently asked to learn perl for a web project by my boss.
I dont know much about perl and today is my first day of research. I have a
programming background in java and vb.
I am just wondering if perl is better for e-commerce apps than java servlet.
and does it offers good security features! the project is a traditional web
form + database type of stuff.

(actually, i personally prefer java cuz of my background but i am willing
to learn a new language if it works)

VX