diff --git a/coroutines-guide.md b/coroutines-guide.md
index 8bf0f94..702a9bd 100644
--- a/coroutines-guide.md
+++ b/coroutines-guide.md
@@ -1700,6 +1700,10 @@
 and a channel to communicate with other coroutines. A simple actor can be written as a function, 
 but an actor with a complex state is better suited for a class. 
 
+There is an [actor] coroutine builder that conveniently combines actor's mailbox channel into its 
+scope to receive messages from and combines the send channel into the resulting job object, so that a 
+single reference to the actor can be carried around as its handle.
+
 ```kotlin
 // Message types for counterActor
 sealed class CounterMsg
@@ -1707,10 +1711,9 @@
 class GetCounter(val response: SendChannel<Int>) : CounterMsg() // a request with reply
 
 // This function launches a new counter actor
-fun counterActor(request: ReceiveChannel<CounterMsg>) = launch(CommonPool) {
+fun counterActor() = actor<CounterMsg>(CommonPool) {
     var counter = 0 // actor state
-    while (isActive) { // main loop of the actor
-        val msg = request.receive()
+    for (msg in channel) { // iterate over incoming messages
         when (msg) {
             is IncCounter -> counter++
             is GetCounter -> msg.response.send(counter)
@@ -1719,14 +1722,14 @@
 }
 
 fun main(args: Array<String>) = runBlocking<Unit> {
-    val request = Channel<CounterMsg>()
-    counterActor(request)
+    val counter = counterActor() // create the actor
     massiveRun(CommonPool) {
-        request.send(IncCounter)
+        counter.send(IncCounter)
     }
     val response = Channel<Int>()
-    request.send(GetCounter(response))
+    counter.send(GetCounter(response))
     println("Counter = ${response.receive()}")
+    counter.close() // shutdown the actor
 }
 ```
 
@@ -1737,12 +1740,16 @@
 Counter = 1000000
 -->
 
-Notice, that it does not matter (for correctness) what context the actor itself is executed in. An actor is
+It does not matter (for correctness) what context the actor itself is executed in. An actor is
 a coroutine and a coroutine is executed sequentially, so confinement of the state to the specific coroutine
 works as a solution to the problem of shared mutable state.
 
-Actor is more efficient than locking under load, because in this case it always has work to do and does not 
-have to switch at all.
+Actor is more efficient than locking under load, because in this case it always has work to do and it does not 
+have to switch to a different context at all.
+
+> Note, that an [actor] coroutine builder is a dual of [produce] coroutine builder. An actor is associated 
+  with the channel that it receives messages from, while a producer is associated with the channel that it 
+  sends elements to.
 
 ## Select expression
 
@@ -2116,6 +2123,7 @@
 [SendChannel.close]: https://kotlin.github.io/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels/close.html
 [produce]: https://kotlin.github.io/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels/produce.html
 [Channel.invoke]: https://kotlin.github.io/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels/invoke.html
+[actor]: https://kotlin.github.io/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels/actor.html
 <!--- INDEX kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.selects -->
 [select]: https://kotlin.github.io/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.selects/select.html
 [SelectBuilder.onReceive]: https://kotlin.github.io/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.selects/on-receive.html
diff --git a/kotlinx-coroutines-core/README.md b/kotlinx-coroutines-core/README.md
index fa9d8d1..ba791ea 100644
--- a/kotlinx-coroutines-core/README.md
+++ b/kotlinx-coroutines-core/README.md
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 | [launch]      | [Job]         | [CoroutineScope] | Launches coroutine that does not have any result 
 | [async]       | [Deferred]    | [CoroutineScope] | Returns a single value with the future result
 | [produce][kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels.produce]     | [ProducerJob][kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels.ProducerJob] | [ProducerScope][kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels.ProducerScope]  | Produces a stream of elements
+| [actor][kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels.actor]     | [ActorJob][kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels.ActorJob] | [ActorScope][kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels.ActorScope]  | Processes a stream of messages
 | [runBlocking] | `T`           | [CoroutineScope] | Blocks the thread while the coroutine runs
 
 Coroutine dispatchers implementing [CoroutineDispatcher]:
@@ -103,6 +104,9 @@
 [kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels.produce]: https://kotlin.github.io/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels/produce.html
 [kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels.ProducerJob]: https://kotlin.github.io/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels/-producer-job/index.html
 [kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels.ProducerScope]: https://kotlin.github.io/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels/-producer-scope/index.html
+[kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels.actor]: https://kotlin.github.io/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels/actor.html
+[kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels.ActorJob]: https://kotlin.github.io/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels/-actor-job/index.html
+[kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels.ActorScope]: https://kotlin.github.io/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels/-actor-scope/index.html
 [kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels.Channel]: https://kotlin.github.io/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels/-channel/index.html
 [kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels.SendChannel.send]: https://kotlin.github.io/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels/send.html
 [kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels.ReceiveChannel.receive]: https://kotlin.github.io/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels/receive.html
diff --git a/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/main/kotlin/kotlinx/coroutines/experimental/channels/Actor.kt b/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/main/kotlin/kotlinx/coroutines/experimental/channels/Actor.kt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..835117c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/main/kotlin/kotlinx/coroutines/experimental/channels/Actor.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2016-2017 JetBrains s.r.o.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels
+
+import kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.CoroutineDispatcher
+import kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.CoroutineScope
+import kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.Job
+import kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.newCoroutineContext
+import kotlin.coroutines.experimental.CoroutineContext
+import kotlin.coroutines.experimental.startCoroutine
+
+/**
+ * Scope for [actor] coroutine builder.
+ */
+public interface ActorScope<out E> : CoroutineScope, ReceiveChannel<E> {
+    /**
+     * A reference to the mailbox channel that this coroutine [receives][receive] messages from.
+     * It is provided for convenience, so that the code in the coroutine can refer
+     * to the channel as `channel` as apposed to `this`.
+     * All the [ReceiveChannel] functions on this interface delegate to
+     * the channel instance returned by this function.
+     */
+    val channel: ReceiveChannel<E>
+}
+
+/**
+ * Return type for [actor] coroutine builder.
+ */
+public interface ActorJob<in E> : Job, SendChannel<E> {
+    /**
+     * A reference to the mailbox channel that this coroutine is receiving messages from.
+     * All the [SendChannel] functions on this interface delegate to
+     * the channel instance returned by this function.
+     */
+    val channel: SendChannel<E>
+}
+
+/**
+ * Launches new coroutine that is receiving messages from its mailbox channel
+ * and returns a reference to the coroutine as an [ActorJob]. The resulting
+ * object can be used to [send][SendChannel.send] messages to this coroutine.
+ *
+ * The scope of the coroutine contains [ActorScope] interface, which implements
+ * both [CoroutineScope] and [ReceiveChannel], so that coroutine can invoke
+ * [receive][ReceiveChannel.receive] directly. The channel is [closed][SendChannel.close]
+ * when the coroutine completes.
+ * The running coroutine is cancelled when the its job is [cancelled][Job.cancel].
+ *
+ * The [context] for the new coroutine must be explicitly specified.
+ * See [CoroutineDispatcher] for the standard [context] implementations that are provided by `kotlinx.coroutines`.
+ * The [context][CoroutineScope.context] of the parent coroutine from its [scope][CoroutineScope] may be used,
+ * in which case the [Job] of the resulting coroutine is a child of the job of the parent coroutine.
+ *
+ * Uncaught exceptions in this coroutine close the channel with this exception as a cause and
+ * the resulting channel becomes _failed_, so that any attempt to send to such a channel throws exception.
+ *
+ * See [newCoroutineContext] for a description of debugging facilities that are available for newly created coroutine.
+ *
+ * @param context context of the coroutine
+ * @param capacity capacity of the channel's buffer (no buffer by default)
+ * @param block the coroutine code
+ */
+public fun <E> actor(
+    context: CoroutineContext,
+    capacity: Int = 0,
+    block: suspend ActorScope<E>.() -> Unit
+): ActorJob<E> {
+    val channel = Channel<E>(capacity)
+    return ActorCoroutine(newCoroutineContext(context), channel).apply {
+        initParentJob(context[Job])
+        block.startCoroutine(this, this)
+    }
+}
+
+private class ActorCoroutine<E>(parentContext: CoroutineContext, channel: Channel<E>) :
+    ChannelCoroutine<E>(parentContext, channel), ActorScope<E>, ActorJob<E>
diff --git a/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/main/kotlin/kotlinx/coroutines/experimental/channels/ChannelCoroutine.kt b/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/main/kotlin/kotlinx/coroutines/experimental/channels/ChannelCoroutine.kt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..484774b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/main/kotlin/kotlinx/coroutines/experimental/channels/ChannelCoroutine.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2016-2017 JetBrains s.r.o.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels
+
+import kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.AbstractCoroutine
+import kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.JobSupport
+import kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.handleCoroutineException
+import kotlin.coroutines.experimental.CoroutineContext
+
+internal open class ChannelCoroutine<E>(
+    override val parentContext: CoroutineContext,
+    val channel: Channel<E>
+) : AbstractCoroutine<Unit>(active = true), Channel<E> by channel {
+    override fun afterCompletion(state: Any?, mode: Int) {
+        val cause = (state as? JobSupport.CompletedExceptionally)?.cause
+        if (!channel.close(cause) && cause != null)
+            handleCoroutineException(context, cause)
+    }
+}
diff --git a/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/main/kotlin/kotlinx/coroutines/experimental/channels/Produce.kt b/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/main/kotlin/kotlinx/coroutines/experimental/channels/Produce.kt
index 24c6855..d4b0834 100644
--- a/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/main/kotlin/kotlinx/coroutines/experimental/channels/Produce.kt
+++ b/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/main/kotlin/kotlinx/coroutines/experimental/channels/Produce.kt
@@ -16,7 +16,10 @@
 
 package kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.channels
 
-import kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.*
+import kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.CoroutineDispatcher
+import kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.CoroutineScope
+import kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.Job
+import kotlinx.coroutines.experimental.newCoroutineContext
 import kotlin.coroutines.experimental.CoroutineContext
 import kotlin.coroutines.experimental.startCoroutine
 
@@ -60,7 +63,8 @@
 
 /**
  * Launches new coroutine to produce a stream of values by sending them to a channel
- * and returns a reference to the coroutine as a [ProducerJob].
+ * and returns a reference to the coroutine as a [ProducerJob]. This resulting
+ * object can be used to [receive][ReceiveChannel.receive] elements produced by this coroutine.
  *
  * The scope of the coroutine contains [ProducerScope] interface, which implements
  * both [CoroutineScope] and [SendChannel], so that coroutine can invoke
@@ -77,6 +81,10 @@
  * the resulting channel becomes _failed_, so that any attempt to receive from such a channel throws exception.
  *
  * See [newCoroutineContext] for a description of debugging facilities that are available for newly created coroutine.
+ *
+ * @param context context of the coroutine
+ * @param capacity capacity of the channel's buffer (no buffer by default)
+ * @param block the coroutine code
  */
 public fun <E> produce(
     context: CoroutineContext,
@@ -101,13 +109,5 @@
 ): ProducerJob<E> =
     produce(context, capacity, block)
 
-private class ProducerCoroutine<E>(
-    override val parentContext: CoroutineContext,
-    override val channel: Channel<E>
-) : AbstractCoroutine<Unit>(active = true), ProducerScope<E>, ProducerJob<E>, Channel<E> by channel {
-    override fun afterCompletion(state: Any?, mode: Int) {
-        val cause = (state as? CompletedExceptionally)?.cause
-        if (!channel.close(cause) && cause != null)
-            handleCoroutineException(context, cause)
-    }
-}
+private class ProducerCoroutine<E>(parentContext: CoroutineContext, channel: Channel<E>) :
+    ChannelCoroutine<E>(parentContext, channel), ProducerScope<E>, ProducerJob<E>
diff --git a/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/test/kotlin/guide/example-sync-04.kt b/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/test/kotlin/guide/example-sync-04.kt
index b9abd6c..b789617 100644
--- a/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/test/kotlin/guide/example-sync-04.kt
+++ b/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/test/kotlin/guide/example-sync-04.kt
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@
 
 fun main(args: Array<String>) = runBlocking<Unit> {
     massiveRun(CommonPool) { // run each coroutine in CommonPool
-        run(counterContext) { // but confine each increment to a single-threaded context
+        run(counterContext) { // but confine each increment to the single-threaded context
             counter++
         }
     }
diff --git a/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/test/kotlin/guide/example-sync-05.kt b/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/test/kotlin/guide/example-sync-05.kt
index 22e7f9d..adf8612 100644
--- a/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/test/kotlin/guide/example-sync-05.kt
+++ b/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/test/kotlin/guide/example-sync-05.kt
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
 var counter = 0
 
 fun main(args: Array<String>) = runBlocking<Unit> {
-    massiveRun(counterContext) { // run each coroutine in single-threaded context
+    massiveRun(counterContext) { // run each coroutine in the single-threaded context
         counter++
     }
     println("Counter = $counter")
diff --git a/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/test/kotlin/guide/example-sync-07.kt b/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/test/kotlin/guide/example-sync-07.kt
index 21b1fd8..1f7129c 100644
--- a/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/test/kotlin/guide/example-sync-07.kt
+++ b/kotlinx-coroutines-core/src/test/kotlin/guide/example-sync-07.kt
@@ -42,10 +42,9 @@
 class GetCounter(val response: SendChannel<Int>) : CounterMsg() // a request with reply
 
 // This function launches a new counter actor
-fun counterActor(request: ReceiveChannel<CounterMsg>) = launch(CommonPool) {
+fun counterActor() = actor<CounterMsg>(CommonPool) {
     var counter = 0 // actor state
-    while (isActive) { // main loop of the actor
-        val msg = request.receive()
+    for (msg in channel) { // iterate over incoming messages
         when (msg) {
             is IncCounter -> counter++
             is GetCounter -> msg.response.send(counter)
@@ -54,12 +53,12 @@
 }
 
 fun main(args: Array<String>) = runBlocking<Unit> {
-    val request = Channel<CounterMsg>()
-    counterActor(request)
+    val counter = counterActor() // create the actor
     massiveRun(CommonPool) {
-        request.send(IncCounter)
+        counter.send(IncCounter)
     }
     val response = Channel<Int>()
-    request.send(GetCounter(response))
+    counter.send(GetCounter(response))
     println("Counter = ${response.receive()}")
+    counter.close() // shutdown the actor
 }