How does MySQL handle multiple persistent connections

Hi everybody,

I use php to interface with a MySQL database. I'm currently developing a forum system using the DB_Sql class from PHPLIB. My webhost is kinda slow, and I want to optimize the load on the MySQL server. Due to the nature of a forum, functions may occasionally be called many times, even recursively, for example getting the subitem of thread then the next item etc.
I currently create a new DB object in every function, and the code tells me that the PHPLIB object makes a persistent connection calling mysql_pconnect(); How does the MySQL server handle multiple connects with the same user and the same database etc? Does it bundle them? Or this it treat them as single connections?

Thanks
Alex Suzuki

PS: you can see a developer version of the forum @ http://cyphor.cynox.ch