diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index 11e8d36f8..94ea99077 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -22,9 +22,9 @@ begin
 
   Thank you for installing #{gem.summary}
 
-  The 'b' in #{gem.version} means this is beta software.
-  If you are looking for a supported production release,
-  please "gem install rspec" (without --pre).
+  This is beta software. If you are looking
+  for a supported production release, please
+  "gem install rspec" (without --pre).
   
 #{"*"*50}
 EOM
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 5df5f02f1..eab5512ed 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-2.0.0.b01
\ No newline at end of file
+2.0.0.beta.1
\ No newline at end of file