In a statement posted Tuesday on the Android developer blog, Google announced the official release of the Android 3.0 SDK. Third-party developers can now publish Honeycomb-compatible applications for the upcoming Android tablets—including the Motorola Xoom, which is expected to debut this week.

Google released a preview of the 3.0 SDK last month, giving third-party developers an early look at the platform's new tablet user interface and an opportunity to get a head start on application development. The new APIs were still subject to change, however, so developers were blocked from publishing their Android 3.0 applications until the official SDK release.

Google says that the APIs are now in their final form and that developers are free to start making their Android 3.0 applications available through the Android Market. As we discussed in our recent look at the SDK preview, the new version of the platform introduces some compelling features that will make it easier for third-party developers to build tablet-friendly Android applications.

Thanks to the early availability of the SDK preview, some developers could already have tablet versions of their applications ready to go for the Xoom launch.