diff --git a/Include/patchlevel.h b/Include/patchlevel.h
index 2879048..8a13a7c 100644
--- a/Include/patchlevel.h
+++ b/Include/patchlevel.h
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
 #define PY_RELEASE_SERIAL	0
 
 /* Version as a string */
-#define PY_VERSION      	"2.6"
+#define PY_VERSION      	"2.6+"
 /*--end constants--*/
 
 /* Subversion Revision number of this file (not of the repository) */
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index 2d1e099..5deb9ec 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -4,6 +4,18 @@
 
 (editors: check NEWS.help for information about editing NEWS using ReST.)
 
+What's New in Python 2.6.1 alpha 1
+==================================
+
+*Release date: XX-XXX-2008*
+
+Core and Builtins
+-----------------
+
+Library
+-------
+
+
 What's New in Python 2.6 final
 ==============================