The Open Source Development Lab (OSDL) is looking beyond its existing sponsorship of Linux creator Linus Torvalds with the formation of a Technical Advisory Board.

The board will comprise "leading Linux and open source software developers" who will advise OSDL on technical requirements and issues to help foster adoption of the open source operating system.

"It is important for OSDL to foster the Linux and open source development communities," said OSDL chief executive Stuart Cohen.

"The Technical Advisory Board extends our involvement with the community beyond sponsoring Linus Torvalds, Andrew Morton and other key developers.

"We look to this new board to help guide us in dedicating resources and people to the most important issues and technical requirements facing the development community."

The board members will be elected by attendees at the Linux Kernel Summit each July. Board members will serve two years, with half of the 10-member board up for election each year.

The inaugural members include James Bottomley, OSDL board member; Wim Coekaerts, director of Linux engineering at Oracle; Randy Dunlap, principal developer at Oracle; Greg Kroah-Hartman, senior engineer at SuSE Labs; and Christoph Lameter, technical lead at Silicon Graphics.

The group will meet monthly and focus initially on nurturing the Linux and open source development communities by improving communication between the community and vendors, increasing the participation of vendors in open source projects, and formalising relationships across OSDL constituencies.

"OSDL has served an important role as an advocate for Linux and in bringing together users and vendors over the past five years," said James Bottomley, chairman of the OSDL Technical Advisory Board and chief technology officer at SteelEye.