Add custom information into application descriptor?

Hi,

Is it possible to add a 'custom' node into an AIR application descriptor? I was hoping to be able to read a specific field from the file eg:

<applicationxmlns="http://ns.adobe.com/air/application/20.0">

    <id>com.application.id</id>

    <filename>Test</filename>

    <name>Test App</name>

    <versionNumber>0.0.1</versionNumber>

    <customNode>value</customNode>

</application>

However it seems nodes like this are stripped out of the packaged application. Any ideas how to add something like this? Or suggestions as to a better method?