As you might already know, The World Digital Library, an online initiative of the U.S. Library of Congress, UNESCO and other international partner libraries, is currently scheduled to launch in 2008 and has garnered the support of tech heavyweights Apple, Intel, and Google. Modeled after the Library of Congress’ American Memory project, the international digital library will be free and multilingual with contributions from around the world, including rare books, films, prints, sound recordings and musical scores.

Google has pitched $3 million into the initiative while Apple and Intel are also taking supportive roles. Representatives for Intel were on hand at UNESCO’s Paris headquarters last month to show how the prototype worked on its child-focused Classmate PC, and Apple employees demonstrated the manner in which the library will function on mobile devices. Apple has also provided the project with expertise concerning digitization and accessibility of documents.

Obviously, this project presents some exciting opportunities for the enhancement of course content—especially since faculty and students will have boundless access to the Word Digital Library from converged mobile devices like the iPhone.

If you’d like to know more, check out AppleInsider’s full article.