Adobe Systems said Monday it's helping to sponsor the SQLite database project, software that figures prominently in at least two of the company's high-profile new projects.

in a blog posting Sunday that Adobe had joined Mozilla and Symbian in joining the SQLite Consortium.

"By supporting the work of the SQLite consortium, Adobe is supporting the continued growth and improvements in SQLite," McAllister said. "Adobe's support of the SQLite Consortium demonstrates Adobe's commitment to open source, and belief that technologies such as SQLite should remain independent and free in the best interests of the community."

Adobe also released a new open source Web site on Sunday.

SQLite is used within the company's newly released Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) software, an operating system-independent foundation layer for Internet applications. Adobe also has said it uses SQLite to power the image database of its raw-photo editing and cataloging software, Photoshop Lightroom.

SQLite Consortium members get a variety of support perks, according to the site, including "the guaranteed, undivided attention of the SQLite developers for 23 staff days per year and for as much additional time above and beyond that amount that the core developers have available."

However SQLite isn't open-source software, strictly speaking. Though SQLite's underlying source code is freely available as part of the public domain, that doesn't meet the technical requirements of the Open Source Definition.

Some of the principles of the movement apply. Outsiders may contribute their own software to the project, for example, though as with many open-source projects, they must explicitly relinquish copyright and turn over rights to their software to the public domain.

Mozilla and Symbian were charter members of the SQLite Consortium, which was launched in December 2007.