Rich Internet Application (RIA)

A Rich Internet Application (RIA) is a Web application that has many of the characteristics of desktop application software, typically delivered either by way of a site-specific browser, via a browser plug-in, independent sandboxes, extensive use of JavaScript, or virtual machines.[1] Adobe Flash, JavaFX, and Microsoft Silverlight are currently the three most common platforms

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Internet_application




A Rich Internet Application (e.g. Pokerstars) provides a modern looking web application with animations, effects and multimedia features.
The web application is hardly recognizable as web application, there is no HTML user interface with forms, drop down boxes or tables.
Typical features of web browsers such as bookmarking or forwards / backwards navigation are usually missing.
A plugin must be installed required (e.g. Java Runtime Environment or Adobe Flash Player).