Clearly inspired by the Google Summer of Code, OWASP has launched the OWASP Autumn of Code:

The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) is launching today a new project aimed at financially sponsoring contributions to OWASP Projects.

The new project, called "OWASP Autumn of Code 2006", aims to sponsor 8 individuals (4 at $3,500 USD and 4 at $5,000 USD) to work on existing OWASP Projects. The objective is to improve the selected projects to a the level of completeness and professionalism required for its wide use and deployment.

There are no geographical, age or any other form of restrictions of who can apply for an "OWASP Autumn of Code 2006" sponsorship. The only requirement is that the candidate shows the potential to accomplish the project's objectives and the commitment to dedicate the time required to complete it in the allocated time frame (projects must be completed by 31st December 2006).

Proposals are due by 18 Sep 2006. This sounds like a really good chance to make some positive contributions to web application security.