GigaSpaces launched OpenSpaces.org, a community web site for developers who wish to utilize and contribute to the open source OpenSpaces development framework. OpenSpaces extends the Spring Framework for enterprise Java development, and leverages the GigaSpaces eXtreme Application Platform (XAP) for data caching, messaging and as the container for application business logic. It is designed for building highly-available, scale-out applications in distributed environments, such as SOA, cloud computing, grids and commodity servers. OpenSpaces is widely used in a variety of industries, including financial services, telecommunications, manufacturing and retail -- and across the web in e-commerce, Web 2.0 applications such as social networking sites, search and more. OpenSpaces.org already lists more than two dozen projects submitted by the developer community, including GigaSpaces customers, partners and employees. Innovative projects include an instant messaging platform, integration with PHP, configuration via JRuby, an implementation of Spring Batch and a scalable dynamic RSS feed delivery system. GigaSpaces recently announced the OpenSpaces Developer Challenge, a developer competition with $25,000 in total prizes and a $10,000 grand prize. The prizes will be awarded to the most innovative applications built using the OpenSpaces framework or plug-ins that extend it. The Challenge deadline is April 2, 2008 and ‘early bird’ prizes are available for those who submit their concepts by February 13, 2008. Additionally, in November of 2007 GigaSpaces launched its Start-Up Program, which provides free software licenses for qualifying individuals and companies.