Much of the funds will go towards new research and development projects, including work with open source database MySQL, the foundation said in a statement on Friday.

“To date the Lanka Software Foundation (LSF) has been severely restricted in the kinds of projects it could start because of funding restrictions,” Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana, Co-Founder and Executive Director of LSF said.

“We hope to use this generous Google donation to seed a series of new R&D projects- starting with an effort around Apache Geronimo and also the popular open source database MySQL.”

Sri Lankan developers have been active in driving a number of open source projects, especially at the Apache Software Foundation, LSF said.

Open source software such as the Linux operating system, where users can view and access source code to customize IT solutions, has gained a lot of attention as an alternate way to develop and distribute software.

For developing countries, open source offers the cost benefits of not paying large amounts for software licenses and the freedom to shape technology to suit local needs.

The Lanka Software Foundation is a not-for profit organization that facilitates global open source projects and also promotes its local use.

“Lanka Software Foundation has tried not only to develop new software and greater capacity for innovation, but has also been a pioneer in organizational innovation in the form of effective university-industry partnerships,” Professor Rohan Samarajiva, Chairman of the LSF said.

“It is now the responsibility of all associated with the Foundation to maintain the momentum and justify the trust placed in us by the Google Foundation.”

Sri Lanka will also host the ApacheCon Asia conference mid August, with over 300 Sri Lankan and international open source software developers expected to attend.

The conference is expected to be a forum for the open source community of Asia to thrash out ideas, techniques and network with users, developers and vendors.