diff --git a/Lib/distutils/__init__.py b/Lib/distutils/__init__.py
index 8a28531..9c60e54 100644
--- a/Lib/distutils/__init__.py
+++ b/Lib/distutils/__init__.py
@@ -12,4 +12,6 @@
 
 __revision__ = "$Id$"
 
-__version__ = "2.5.0"
+import sys
+__version__ = "%d.%d.%d" % sys.version_info[:3]
+del sys
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index dec5a2c..80d67e2 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -80,7 +80,8 @@
   side effects from one test to the next affect outcomes.  ``DocTestFinder``
   has been changed to sort the list of tests it returns.
 
-- The distutils version has been changed to 2.5.0.
+- The distutils version has been changed to 2.5.0, and are now kept
+  in sync with sys.version_info[:3].
 
 - Bug #978833: Really close underlying socket in _socketobject.close.