Integrating Sparkweb into a wordpress site

I am just building a new wordpress based site running under apache22 and mysql.

One of the pages needs to support access to a dedicated IM based service via sparkweb and I would like sparkweb to share the same user database. All communications via sparkweb go to and from a dedicated openfire server running on the same system as wordpress. The server OS is freebsd 8.2.

Sparkweb and openfire are set up so users cannot use the service to communicate to anyone other than those registered on the wordpress site site. The services they can use depend upon individual permissions. Once the openfire server has received a valid login it manages which services the user can access.

Currently all I have done is place the sparkweb code in a path within the site and provided a link to that page. Initially I have set it up so that users need to login via wordpress and then again to access the openfire server via sparkweb. Due to the way openfire operates they currently need to login a third time, with a different user/password combination to be connected to one or more dedicated openfire services.

Each service (e,g a room) has its own loginname and password combination.

I would really like to have a seamless integration so, ideally, the user has only to login to the wordpress site and ID/password combination for the services will be stored within the wordpress database along with other controls for each service e.g allowed time access window.

It is easier, for example, to use the wordpress user system, to determmine whether a user should be connected at a particular time to a specified openfire service rather than do this by modifying the openfire server. In effect wordpress would store the login details and then, when asked and appropriate, initiate the connection to the service.

The problem for me is I am not very familar with either the wordpress or sparkweb code base and do not know where to start.

I have a couple of ideas floated to me from the sparkweb site but am wondering if anyone here would be willing to contribute to approaching this from a good direction.

Thanks in advance for helpful contributions

David