Systems and methods consistent with this invention provide for efficient processing, caching and routing of XML documents through the use of a proxy server. The proxy server is coupled to at least one client computer and a plurality of remote servers on the Internet. The proxy server is adapted in this preferred embodiment to receive a document request in the form of a uniform resource locator (URL) from a client computer and to determine whether the document is an unprocessed XML document. If the document is an unprocessed XML document, the proxy server is further adapted to search a local cache for a processed version of the document, and to transmit the processed document to the requesting client. In the event the document is not found in local storage, the proxy server is adapted to process the XML document, route it to the client and then store the file in local storage in anticipation of subsequent requests for the same document.