An anti-extremist phone app designed by West Australian university students has taken out second prize in an international competition hosted by the US State Department.

Students from more than 20 universities across the world were invited to submit a pitch to the Peer 2 Peer: Challenging Extremism competition.

The Curtin students were named as finalists and invited to Washington, where they presented their idea to 300 people including White House officials and came second.

Their brief was to design a digital media concept that would counter the vast social media presence of extremist groups.

Curtin University students came up with the 52JUMAA phone app, named after the Arabic translation for Friday.

Student Ahmed Ali explained how the app works.

"First of all you download the app, then take a pledge saying I promise to be a better me," he said.

"Then you choose traits that you want to improve on, like patience, trustworthiness and kindness."

Users are sent a daily affirmation and can connect with each other through the app to offer support.

App targets young Muslims developing identity

The app is primarily designed to provide support and positive messages to young Muslims who are developing their identity.

But Mr Ahmed said it was also broader than that.

"It isn't just targeting violence, it also gives people options for a positive lifestyle, so it counters drug-taking, people not studying or not exercising," he said.

Fellow team member James McHale, who is a Perth-based ABC News anchor, said the app targeted people at a vulnerable time in their lives.

"This is a concept that engages people at a very early stage in their lives, helps them form their identity in a really positive way and also builds a community of people who are resilient to violent extremist myths," he said.

"The beauty of the app is that it's something that than continue to develop and we hope it will be around for years to come."

For Mr Ali, 18, being involved in the competition was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Our primary goal wasn't winning, it was to get the app out there, get some connections and really sell the app," he said.

"Everyone in the crowd thought it was fantastic and there's nothing out there like it.

"We had a lot of CEOs and companies who wanted to invest in the app and help us incubate it."

Offers of financial support to develop app

Curtin University counter-terrorism expert Anne Aly, who supervised the project, agrees they have been overwhelmed by offers of financial support to turn their idea into reality.

"So we're now looking at commitments from a number of sources to make this a reality so everyone will be able to download it soon," she said.

"There's also been interest in translating the app into several languages, including Arabic and Indonesian, so people all around the world can use it.

"Hopefully the future holds something really big."

The students also presented their idea to Australia's Ambassador to the United States, Kim Beazley.

"Their activity is fantastic (and) it's so relevant to our community," he said.

"You have to have a mechanism where young people can communicate with other young people and (be) encouraged against actions which damage the community.

"It's a brilliant idea they've come up with and they've got to be encouraged."

The app is still at the prototype stage, but the Curtin team is hoping to make it available to the public within a year.