Product Customizing via Image Attributes

Hi,

I have a project that I'm told to scope out.

A product page that shows a nice sized image of the product, and then via drop
down menu lists, when you select options via the lists, it changes the main
image. (Here's a link to an example that I did, that uses Flash, but just
showcases two product configs- http://www.benchmade.com/nica.asp )

I know that I could easily create this with Flash, but I'm curious what would
be the most efficient, and ALSO be able to somehow tie into the site's shopping
cart process so that the user can purchase the product that he/she configured
via the drop down lists.

Any ideas? Any estimated hours? Anything is welcome in helping me scope this
out.

Thanks in advance. (posting on Flash forum also)