diff --git a/Include/patchlevel.h b/Include/patchlevel.h
index 100758a5e2..f2bdaf3907 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      	"2.6.3"
+#define PY_VERSION      	"2.6.3+"
 /*--end constants--*/
 
 /* Subversion Revision number of this file (not of the repository) */
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index 9a237a28d8..c4d552c803 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -4,6 +4,18 @@ Python News
 
 (editors: check NEWS.help for information about editing NEWS using ReST.)
 
+What's New in Python 2.6.4a1?
+=============================
+
+*Release date: XX-XXX-20XX*
+
+Core and Builtins
+-----------------
+
+Library
+-------
+
+
 What's New in Python 2.6.3
 ==========================