Looking to secure its position in the growing smartphone market, PalmSource unveiled a new program designed to get its software into the hands of more mobile users.

As part of the new Palm Powered Mobile World program, which the company launched Monday at the Comdex tradeshow in Las Vegas, mobile operators will work with PalmSource developers to incorporate their feedback and requirements into the Palm OS platform. In addition, operators can create a unique catalog of software titles for over-the-air (OTA) delivery to Palm-based smartphones.

Under the program, PalmSource will test software applications for OTA download from the new PalmSource software store, also announced today. The new store, located at http://www.palmsource.com/software, is powered by PalmGear and includes more than 20,000 Palm OS titles.

Sprint is the first carrier to sign up for the program. The operator offers three Palm-based smartphones: the Treo 600, the Treo 300, and the Samsung i500.

In a separate announcement, PalmSource said that PerComm, a pager maker, has licensed the Palm OS for new "smart mobile devices" that operate on wireless networks including GSM and CDMA.