Adobe Systems on Monday introduced Adobe Acrobat 9, incorporating Flash technology into PDF documents.

Integration with Flash enables users to include Flash Player-compatible video and application files in PDF documents. Recipients use Adobe Acrobat Reader 9 software to consume content. With this move, static documents become dynamic communications, Adobe said.

Also featured in Acrobat 9 is the ability to unify content into a single document with a concept called PDF Portfolios, which enable business professionals to assemble multiple media types such as documents, videos, and 3-D objects into a compressed PDF file.

Live collaboration is supported within a PDF document as well, via a suite of services called Acrobat.com, which is being introduced as a public beta release on Monday. A salesperson, for example, could use Acrobat 9 to send a contract to clients. Groups could work in real time on the document via Acrobat.com.

"It’s really about extending Acrobat to allow people to work better on documents," said Kevin Lynch, vice president of product management for Acrobat.

Featured in Acrobat.com are Buzzword, for Web-based word processing, and ConnectNow, for Web conferencing and desktop sharing.

Acrobat 9, which comes in Standard, Pro, Pro Extended, and Mac OS X editions, is due by July, with prices ranging from $299 to $699. Upgrades also are offered at reduced prices.

The Standard Edition includes basic forms capabilities, while the Pro version incorporates an advanced forms designer. The Extended release offers capabilities such as 3-D functionality and video conversion. Also, PowerPoint documents can be converted to Flash and wrapped in a PDF.