I did something similar when i was in college, I made a particle stream use a texture map that was emitted from a hidden plane that was controled by a lattice. I keyed the UV offset and the particles where flung in the direction (U in my case) outward.

I imagine you could do something similar to that in your project though I can't really help you. I used the Digital Tutors training DVD and bearly understood it myself plus its been about a year since i've even seen the material. I advice you either invest in the disc to get aquanted with the principal or look for tutorials.