The Vatican is to fund new research into the potential use of adult stem cells in treating diseases.

The project is at a preliminary phase and it will be years before any clinical treatment might be available, officials said.

The Vatican has agreed to donate £2 million to the research, which is led by the University of Maryland's School of Medicine.

The church is opposed to embryonic stem cell research because it involves the destruction of embryos, but it supports the use of adult stem cells.

In 2007 the pope said adult stem cell research respects human life, which according to church teachings begins at conception.

The Vatican has drawn criticism for its opposition to embryonic stem cell research. But it insists there are scientifically viable alternatives and the efforts of the scientific community should go in that direction.

But while embryonic stem cells are especially prized for their pluripotency - meaning they can morph into any type of cell in the body - adult stem cells are not as pluripotent. For that reason, embryonic stem cells are considered to have more potential for the treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer's, diabetes and Parkinson's.

Researchers involved in the Vatican-financed project say they want to assess the potential of intestinal stem cells - a relatively new field - for therapeutic use.

"We want to harvest them, we want isolate them, we want to make them grow outside our body and see if they are pluripotent," said Alessio Fasano, the scientist leading the project.

"If we reach that phase, if we are able to achieve that goal, then our next step is to eventually move to clinical application," he said.