Adobe AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) is the official name of the Apollo cross-platform runtime environment that has been receiving so much press as of late. Adobe AIR will allow developers to create cross-platform desktop rich internet applications using the technologies they already leverage: HTML, Javascript, and Flash.

Creating AIR applications using HTML was a feature that was originally planned during Apollo’s initial announcement but dropped off the radar for a short period of time. With the new name announcement, Adobe has confirmed developers will be able to use HTML to develop their applications using the AIR runtime.

Adobe AIR will officially be released sometime later this year but you can download the beta SDK at the Adobe website.