we live in a post 2.7.3 world
diff --git a/Include/patchlevel.h b/Include/patchlevel.h
index ef1b81a..bbdd67b 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      	"2.7.3"
+#define PY_VERSION      	"2.7.3+"
 /*--end constants--*/
 
 /* Subversion Revision number of this file (not of the repository). Empty