A small Java program which is cross-platform compatible and can be embedded in the HTML of a webpage.  Web browsers, which are usually equipped with Java virtual machines, can run the applets to perform interactive graphics, games, calculators, etc.  "Applets" differ from "Java applications" in that they are more secure -- they can't access certain resources on the local computer, such as hard drives, modems, and printers; and they can only make an Internet connection to the computer from which the applet was sent.