NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 05/08/12 -- Joomla, one of the world's most popular open source content management systems (CMS) used for everything from websites to blogs to Intranets, today announced students will contribute to the Joomla CMS core and platform this summer as part of the Google Summer of Code™. In all, there are eight students that are working on eight separate projects that may eventually be used by Joomla. These assignments include creating Facebook, Google services and MediaWiki APIs, multi-language options for installation, and much more. The Google Summer of Code is a global program that runs until August 24, offering students 18 years and older stipends to write code for open source projects.

The students working on Joomla projects are from Brazil, France, Romania, Sri Lanka and the United States. One such student is Aaron Schmitz who at just 18 years old is finishing up his junior year at the University of Minnesota and was the top American finisher at the Google Code-in competition, an open source coding competition for 13 to 17 year-old students. "It's exciting to be able to contribute to code that may eventually be incorporated into the Joomla core code that is used by millions of people to manage content on more than a million websites," said Schmitz.

Some of the assignments the students will be working on include:

• A Facebook API -- This will enable Joomla powered websites to integrate their Facebook page content into their website and integrate their website content into their Facebook page
• A Google API -- Google services like Google Maps and Webmaster Tools will be able to be integrated into Joomla powered websites
• Multi-language installation options -- The option to choose from multiple languages, not just English, when installing Joomla to manage content on a website, blog or Intranet.

"We're excited to see what kind of code these students come up with, but we're equally as excited to have these students join the Joomla community," said Elin Waring of the Joomla Production Working Group who is co-administering the Google Summer of Code projects. "The end goal with Joomla developers is all about creating code that millions of people use, but it is the interaction and sharing of ideas in our community that makes Joomla tick."

Although the students' code won't all be immediately committed to the Joomla CMS core at the end of the summer, it will continue to be developed for the core and may be used by extension developers. Many of the Google Summer of Code projects are focused on the Joomla Platform which provides the infrastructure that future development in the Joomla CMS and other applications build on. The Joomla Platform enables developers to build multi-purpose, multi-device applications like mobile and cloud computing apps, and enterprise business systems that can run independent from the core CMS.

For the next three months, the eight students will be working on coding for their Joomla assignments. They will present their projects to the Joomla community in mid-August. On August 24, students will find out whether their code is acceptable. They have the potential to receive a $5000 stipend from Google for participating, to be paid out in installments. More information about Joomla's Google Summer of Code students and all of the projects they are working on, go to http://community.joomla.org/blogs/community/1571-were-off-to-the-races.html.

About Joomla!
Joomla is one of the world's most popular open source content management systems (CMS). With 2.7 percent of the Web running on Joomla, it is used for everything from small personal websites and blogs to some of the largest enterprise, highest trafficked websites and Intranets including those operated by Citibank, eBay, General Electric, Harvard University, Ikea, McDonald's, Sony, many large nations and more. Due to its power and elegance, the most inexperienced user to the most seasoned web developer can use it. Since its inception in 2005, Joomla has been 100 percent community owned and operated. The Joomla community is a true collaboration of thousands of open source developers and millions of everyday users who account for its software being downloaded more than 31 million times to date. For more information, visit www.joomla.org.

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