Adobe has announced that Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0, the companyis consumer photo editing application, is shipping for both Mac OS X and Windows. The new version includes new editing functions, including some features previously available only in the professional version of Photoshop.

Photoshop Elements 3.0 brings two features from its professional big brother, Photoshop CS, the Healing Brush and Spot Healing Brush tools. These tools allow users to more easily fix problems within a photograph. These tools were first introduced in Photoshop CS, which was released in September of 2003.

Adobe also says it has improved the Smart Fix tool that applies one-click image optimizations such as levels, contrast, and color-correction. In addition, Photoshop Elements 3 includes improved red-eye correction, a must-have feature for consumers.

The other new feature for the Mac version of Elements is support for the RAW photo format, which is used in many digital cameras.

The Windows version of Photoshop Elements 3 include several features not available to Mac users. The company has built into the Windows product the ability to order prints online direct from the application, as well as e-mail sharing capabilities. These features are similar to features Apple has built into iPhoto, part of Appleis iLife suite.

Perhaps because of that discrepancy, at US$89.99, the Mac version of Elements is $10 cheaper than the Windows version, which retails for $99.99. Mac users can upgrade to version 3.0 for $69.99 with a rebate through Adobe. Amazon currently is offering the full version of the product at $49.99 after a $40 rebate.

In addition to the enhanced version of Photoshop Elements, Adobe also announced the release of Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0 for Windows only, the companyis consumer video editing software.