Sun's pursuit to have Java applications run on Apple's iPhone gained momentum as the two firms continued holding talks about the idea, while acknowledging a third party's efforts towards the same goal.

We've expressed our intent to do this and our desire to work with Apple to build Java Virtual Machine (JVM) for the iPhone and we're moving forward with that, said Eric Klein, Sun vice president of Java marketing.

There are concerns of whether Apple's iPhone SDK agreement would permit Java to be put on its popular new device.

Currently Sun is working with a third party, Innaworks, to bring Java applications to the iPhone.

They're actually working on a solution that allows developers to compile Java Micro Edition (Java ME) applications into native iPhone applications, said Klein.

Sun and Apple will discuss details of the clauses in the SDK license agreement before the JVM is put on iPhone through the iPhone SDK.

Klein added that Sun's goals from the Java platform will be to allow developers to be able to get as many phones as possible and that the iPhone has turned out to be one of the very successful platform.