diff --git a/build/commands/AutoloadCommand.php b/build/commands/AutoloadCommand.php
index 43d3a0b33c..e4d07afa75 100644
--- a/build/commands/AutoloadCommand.php
+++ b/build/commands/AutoloadCommand.php
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ public function run($args)
 				'/i18n/data',
 				'/utils/mimeTypes.php',
 				'/test',
+				'/zii',
 			),
 		);
 		$files=CFileHelper::findFiles(YII_PATH,$options);
diff --git a/framework/YiiBase.php b/framework/YiiBase.php
index 5f232ee5f8..a14a4165d4 100644
--- a/framework/YiiBase.php
+++ b/framework/YiiBase.php
@@ -628,6 +628,7 @@ public static function t($category,$message,$params=array(),$source=null,$langua
 		'CUrlManager' => '/web/CUrlManager.php',
 		'CWebApplication' => '/web/CWebApplication.php',
 		'CWebModule' => '/web/CWebModule.php',
+		'CWidgetFactory' => '/web/CWidgetFactory.php',
 		'CAction' => '/web/actions/CAction.php',
 		'CInlineAction' => '/web/actions/CInlineAction.php',
 		'CViewAction' => '/web/actions/CViewAction.php',
diff --git a/framework/base/interfaces.php b/framework/base/interfaces.php
index 4d3575aefd..c1a3dba2f1 100644
--- a/framework/base/interfaces.php
+++ b/framework/base/interfaces.php
@@ -533,3 +533,26 @@ public function getEnabled();
 	 */
 	public function setEnabled($value);
 }
+
+/**
+ * IWidgetFactory is the interface that must be implemented by a widget factory class.
+ *
+ * When calling {@link CBaseController::createWidget}, if a widget factory is available,
+ * it will be used for creating the requested widget.
+ *
+ * @author Qiang Xue <qiang.xue@gmail.com>
+ * @version $Id$
+ * @package system.web
+ * @since 1.1
+ */
+interface IWidgetFactory
+{
+	/**
+	 * Creates a new widget based on the given class name and initial properties.
+	 * @param CBaseController the owner of the new widget
+	 * @param string the class name of the widget. This can also be a path alias (e.g. system.web.widgets.COutputCache)
+	 * @param array the initial property values (name=>value) of the widget.
+	 * @return CWidget the newly created widget whose properties have been initialized with the given values.
+	 */
+	public function createWidget($owner,$className,$properties=array());
+}
diff --git a/framework/web/CBaseController.php b/framework/web/CBaseController.php
index 6fc7adb073..da6ad34d7c 100644
--- a/framework/web/CBaseController.php
+++ b/framework/web/CBaseController.php
@@ -128,16 +128,23 @@ public function renderInternal($_viewFile_,$_data_=null,$_return_=false)
 	 * This method first creates the specified widget instance.
 	 * It then configures the widget's properties with the given initial values.
 	 * At the end it calls {@link CWidget::init} to initialize the widget.
+	 * Starting from version 1.1, if a {@link CWidgetFactory widget factory} is enabled,
+	 * this method will use the factory to create the widget, instead.
 	 * @param string class name (can be in path alias format)
 	 * @param array initial property values
 	 * @return CWidget the fully initialized widget instance.
 	 */
 	public function createWidget($className,$properties=array())
 	{
-		$className=Yii::import($className,true);
-		$widget=new $className($this);
-		foreach($properties as $name=>$value)
-			$widget->$name=$value;
+		if(($factory=Yii::app()->getWidgetFactory())!==null)
+			$widget=$factory->createWidget($this,$className,$properties);
+		else
+		{
+			$className=Yii::import($className,true);
+			$widget=new $className($this);
+			foreach($properties as $name=>$value)
+				$widget->$name=$value;
+		}
 		$widget->init();
 		return $widget;
 	}
diff --git a/framework/web/CTheme.php b/framework/web/CTheme.php
index d2c8d7d2f9..b2e7417871 100644
--- a/framework/web/CTheme.php
+++ b/framework/web/CTheme.php
@@ -75,6 +75,15 @@ public function getSystemViewPath()
 		return $this->getViewPath().DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR.'system';
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * @return string the path for widget skins. Defaults to 'ThemeRoot/views/skins'.
+	 * @since 1.1
+	 */
+	public function getSkinPath()
+	{
+		return $this->getViewPath().DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR.'skins';
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Finds the view file for the specified controller's view.
 	 * @param CController the controller
diff --git a/framework/web/CWebApplication.php b/framework/web/CWebApplication.php
index 7fe07e6486..a5c3790258 100644
--- a/framework/web/CWebApplication.php
+++ b/framework/web/CWebApplication.php
@@ -154,6 +154,10 @@ protected function registerCoreComponents()
 			'clientScript'=>array(
 				'class'=>'CClientScript',
 			),
+			'widgetFactory'=>array(
+				'class'=>'CWidgetFactory',
+				'enabled'=>false,
+			),
 		);
 
 		$this->setComponents($components);
@@ -228,6 +232,16 @@ public function getClientScript()
 		return $this->getComponent('clientScript');
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Returns the widget factory.
+	 * @return IWidgetFactory the widget factory
+	 * @since 1.1
+	 */
+	public function getWidgetFactory()
+	{
+		return $this->getComponent('widgetFactory');
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * @return CThemeManager the theme manager.
 	 */
diff --git a/framework/web/CWidgetFactory.php b/framework/web/CWidgetFactory.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c55ae9e6a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/framework/web/CWidgetFactory.php
@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * CWidgetFactory class file.
+ *
+ * @author Qiang Xue <qiang.xue@gmail.com>
+ * @link http://www.yiiframework.com/
+ * @copyright Copyright &copy; 2008-2009 Yii Software LLC
+ * @license http://www.yiiframework.com/license/
+ */
+
+
+/**
+ * CWidgetFactory creates new widgets to be used in views.
+ *
+ * CWidgetFactory is used as the default "widgetFactory" application component.
+ *
+ * When calling {@link CBaseController::createWidget}, {@link CBaseController::widget}
+ * or {@link CBaseController::beginWidget}, if the "widgetFactory" component is enabled
+ * (disabled by default), it will be used to create the requested widget.
+ *
+ * CWidgetFactory implements the "skin" feature, which allows a new widget to be created
+ * and initialized with a set of predefined property values (called skin).
+ *
+ * When CWidgetFactory is used to create a new widget, it will first instantiate the
+ * widget instance. It then checks if there is a skin available for this widget
+ * according to the widget class name and the widget {@link CWidget::skin} property.
+ * If a skin is found, it will be merged with the initial properties passed via
+ * {@link createWidget}. Then the merged initial properties will be used to initialize
+ * the newly created widget instance.
+ *
+ * As aforementioned, a skin is a set of initial property values for a widget.
+ * It is thus represented as an associative array of name-value pairs.
+ * Skins are stored in PHP scripts like other configurations. Each script file stores the skins
+ * for a particular widget type and is named as the wiget class name (e.g. CLinkPager.php).
+ * Each widget type may have one or several skins, identified by the skin ID set via
+ * {@link CWidget::skin} property. If the {@link CWidget::skin} property is not set for a given
+ * widget, it means the default skin would be used. The following shows the possible skins for
+ * the {@link CLinkPager} widget:
+ * <pre>
+ * return array(
+ *     'default'=>array(
+ *         'nextPageLabel'=>'&gt;&gt;',
+ *         'prevPageLabel'=>'&lt;&lt;',
+ *     ),
+ *     'short'=>array(
+ *         'header'=>'',
+ *         'maxButtonCount'=>5,
+ *     ),
+ * );
+ * </pre>
+ * In the above, there are two skins. The first one is the default skin which is indexed by the string "default".
+ * Note that {@link CWidget::skin} defaults to "default". Therefore, this is the skin that will be applied
+ * if we do not explicitly specify the {@link CWidget::skin} property.
+ * The second one is named as the "short" skin which will be used only when we set {@link CWidget::skin}
+ * to be "short".
+ *
+ * By default, CWidgetFactory looks for the skin of a widget under the "skins" directory
+ * of the current application's {@link CWebApplication::viewPath} (e.g. protected/views/skins).
+ * If a theme is being used, it will look for the skin under the "skins" directory of
+ * the theme's {@link CTheme::viewPath}. In case the specified skin is not found, a widget will still be created
+ * normally without causing any error.
+ *
+ * Note that by default, the "widgetFactory" component is not enabled. It may be enabled
+ * by configuring the component in the application configuration like the following:
+ * <pre>
+ * return array(
+ *     'components'=>array(
+ *         'widgetFactory'=>array(
+ *             'enabled'=>true,
+ *         ),
+ *     ),
+ * )
+ * </pre>
+ *
+ * @author Qiang Xue <qiang.xue@gmail.com>
+ * @version $Id$
+ * @package system.web
+ * @since 1.1
+ */
+class CWidgetFactory extends CApplicationComponent implements IWidgetFactory
+{
+	/**
+	 * @var string the directory containing all the skin files. Defaults to null,
+	 * meaning using the "skin" directory under the current application's {@link CWebApplication::viewPath}.
+	 */
+	public $skinPath;
+
+	private $_skins=array();  // class name, skin name, property name => value
+
+	/**
+	 * Initializes the application component.
+	 * This method overrides the parent implementation by resolving the skin path.
+	 */
+	public function init()
+	{
+		parent::init();
+
+		if(($theme=Yii::app()->getTheme())!==null)
+			$this->skinPath=$theme->getSkinPath();
+		else if($this->skinPath===null)
+			$this->skinPath=Yii::app()->getViewPath().DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR.'skins';
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Creates a new widget based on the given class name and initial properties.
+	 * @param CBaseController the owner of the new widget
+	 * @param string the class name of the widget. This can also be a path alias (e.g. system.web.widgets.COutputCache)
+	 * @param array the initial property values (name=>value) of the widget.
+	 * @return CWidget the newly created widget whose properties have been initialized with the given values.
+	 */
+	public function createWidget($owner,$className,$properties=array())
+	{
+		$className=Yii::import($className,true);
+		$widget=new $className($this);
+		$skinName=isset($properties['skin']) ? $properties['skin'] : 'default';
+		if(($skin=$this->getSkin($className,$skinName))!==array())
+			$properties=$properties===array() ? $skin : CMap::mergeArray($skin,$properties);
+		foreach($properties as $name=>$value)
+			$widget->$name=$value;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Returns the skin for the specified widget class and skin name.
+	 * @param string the widget class name
+	 * @param string the widget skin name
+	 * @return array the skin (name=>value) for the widget
+	 */
+	protected function getSkin($className,$skinName)
+	{
+		if(!isset($this->_skins[$className][$skinName]))
+		{
+			$skinFile=$this->skinPath.DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR.$className.'.php';
+			if(is_file($skinFile))
+				$this->_skins[$className]=require($skinFile);
+			else
+				$this->_skins[$className]=array();
+			if(!isset($this->_skins[$className][$skinName]))
+				$this->_skins[$className][$skinName]=array();
+		}
+		return $this->_skins[$className][$skinName];
+	}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/framework/web/widgets/CWidget.php b/framework/web/widgets/CWidget.php
index 217ebfe9a1..539b6cc215 100644
--- a/framework/web/widgets/CWidget.php
+++ b/framework/web/widgets/CWidget.php
@@ -33,6 +33,12 @@ class CWidget extends CBaseController
 	 * @since 1.0.1
 	 */
 	public $actionPrefix;
+	/**
+	 * @var string the name of the skin to be used by this widget. Defaults to 'default'.
+	 * @see CWidgetFactory
+	 * @since 1.1
+	 */
+	public $skin='default';
 
 	/**
 	 * @var array view paths for different types of widgets
diff --git a/framework/yiilite.php b/framework/yiilite.php
index 71532e1743..bc0dd07fb7 100644
--- a/framework/yiilite.php
+++ b/framework/yiilite.php
@@ -28,9 +28,10 @@
 defined('YII_ENABLE_EXCEPTION_HANDLER') or define('YII_ENABLE_EXCEPTION_HANDLER',true);
 defined('YII_ENABLE_ERROR_HANDLER') or define('YII_ENABLE_ERROR_HANDLER',true);
 defined('YII_PATH') or define('YII_PATH',dirname(__FILE__));
+defined('YII_ZII_PATH') or define('YII_ZII_PATH',YII_PATH.DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR.'zii');
 class YiiBase
 {
-	private static $_aliases=array('system'=>YII_PATH); // alias => path
+	private static $_aliases=array('system'=>YII_PATH,'zii'=>YII_ZII_PATH); // alias => path
 	private static $_imports=array();					// alias => class name or directory
 	private static $_classes=array();
 	private static $_includePaths;						// list of include paths
@@ -402,6 +403,7 @@ public static function t($category,$message,$params=array(),$source=null,$langua
 		'CUrlManager' => '/web/CUrlManager.php',
 		'CWebApplication' => '/web/CWebApplication.php',
 		'CWebModule' => '/web/CWebModule.php',
+		'CWidgetFactory' => '/web/CWidgetFactory.php',
 		'CAction' => '/web/actions/CAction.php',
 		'CInlineAction' => '/web/actions/CInlineAction.php',
 		'CViewAction' => '/web/actions/CViewAction.php',
@@ -1352,6 +1354,10 @@ protected function registerCoreComponents()
 			'clientScript'=>array(
 				'class'=>'CClientScript',
 			),
+			'widgetFactory'=>array(
+				'class'=>'CWidgetFactory',
+				'enabled'=>false,
+			),
 		);
 		$this->setComponents($components);
 	}
@@ -1387,6 +1393,10 @@ public function getClientScript()
 	{
 		return $this->getComponent('clientScript');
 	}
+	public function getWidgetFactory()
+	{
+		return $this->getComponent('widgetFactory');
+	}
 	public function getThemeManager()
 	{
 		return $this->getComponent('themeManager');
@@ -2657,10 +2667,15 @@ public function renderInternal($_viewFile_,$_data_=null,$_return_=false)
 	}
 	public function createWidget($className,$properties=array())
 	{
-		$className=Yii::import($className,true);
-		$widget=new $className($this);
-		foreach($properties as $name=>$value)
-			$widget->$name=$value;
+		if(($factory=Yii::app()->getWidgetFactory())!==null)
+			$widget=$factory->createWidget($this,$className,$properties);
+		else
+		{
+			$className=Yii::import($className,true);
+			$widget=new $className($this);
+			foreach($properties as $name=>$value)
+				$widget->$name=$value;
+		}
 		$widget->init();
 		return $widget;
 	}
@@ -4473,6 +4488,7 @@ protected static function renderAttributes($htmlOptions)
 class CWidget extends CBaseController
 {
 	public $actionPrefix;
+	public $skin='default';
 	private static $_viewPaths;
 	private static $_counter=0;
 	private $_id;
@@ -7169,4 +7185,8 @@ public function detach($component);
 	public function getEnabled();
 	public function setEnabled($value);
 }
+interface IWidgetFactory
+{
+	public function createWidget($owner,$className,$properties=array());
+}
 ?>
\ No newline at end of file