Database web service

I would like to get advice on which technologies to use to allow me to give external websites access to a database which is part of my (Joomla-based) website. Access should be given only if a number of conditions are fulfilled and I should be able to monitor the web services. The goal of this post on vworker is to receive input which can allow me to correctly describe the technical requirements / architecture when posting the actual project on vworker later this week. Valuable input in this stage will be taken into account when the project will be awarded around November 1st. ## Deliverables I am curently running a Joomla based website. On this site I would like to realize the following: I have a database with around 200 project descriptions (I will call them objects from now on). Each object (project) consists of a number of criteria (fields) and a piece of text (the actual project description). Based on the fields (3-4) I would like to give visitors to my site the chance to search the projects. This search function should look like 3-4 dropdown lists (the criteria or fields) possibly combined with a string search function that searches in the object title. A search should generate a list of the projects that fit the chosen criteria, this list should contain hyperlinks that give access to specific pages with the project description. I would like to make this **search function available to other websites** but would like to be able to control who / how many people consult the information. Possible future extensions I would like the access to the search function to be restricted, towards the future maybe coupled with a payment system. ***YOUR ADVICE*** I would need advice on which components to use to realize this. More importantly I would like to see sites where you realized similar setups. Especially the aspect of accessing the same database from two different websites is important to me. Screenshots or access to the backend where I can monitor the web services would be very interesting as well.