Index: build.xml
===================================================================
--- build.xml	(revision 18359)
+++ build.xml	(working copy)
@@ -467,8 +467,25 @@
                 <include name="org/codehaus/groovy/antlib.xml"/>
             </fileset>
         </copy>
+    	<antcall target="-includeReleaseInfo"/>
     </target>
 
+    <target name="-includeReleaseInfo">
+        <copy file="${mainSourceDirectory}/META-INF/release-info.properties" 
+            todir="${mainClassesDirectory}/META-INF" overwrite="true">
+        </copy>
+    	<tstamp>
+    	    <format property="release.date" pattern="dd-MMM-yyyy"/>
+    	    <format property="release.time" pattern="hh:mm aa"/>
+    	</tstamp>
+        <replace file="${mainClassesDirectory}/META-INF/release-info.properties">
+          <replacefilter token="##ImplementationVersion##" value="${groovyVersion}"/>   
+          <replacefilter token="##BundleVersion##" value="${groovyBundleVersion}"/>
+          <replacefilter token="##BuildDate##" value="${release.date}"/>
+          <replacefilter token="##BuildTime##" value="${release.time}"/>
+        </replace>
+    </target>
+
     <target name="-includeExamplesResources" depends="-includeGroovyDocTemplates">
         <copy todir="${examplesClassesDirectory}">
             <fileset dir="${examplesSourceDirectory}">
Index: src/main/groovy/lang/GroovySystem.java
===================================================================
--- src/main/groovy/lang/GroovySystem.java	(revision 18359)
+++ src/main/groovy/lang/GroovySystem.java	(working copy)
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
  */
 package groovy.lang;
 
+import org.codehaus.groovy.runtime.InvokerHelper;
 import org.codehaus.groovy.runtime.metaclass.MetaClassRegistryImpl;
 import org.codehaus.groovy.util.ReferenceBundle;
 
@@ -78,4 +79,8 @@
         ReferenceBundle.getSoftBundle().getManager().stopThread();
         ReferenceBundle.getWeakBundle().getManager().stopThread();
     }
+
+    public static String getVersion() {
+        return InvokerHelper.getVersion();
+    }
 }
Index: src/main/META-INF/release-info.properties
===================================================================
--- src/main/META-INF/release-info.properties	(revision 0)
+++ src/main/META-INF/release-info.properties	(revision 0)
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+ImplementationVersion=##ImplementationVersion##
+BundleVersion=##BundleVersion##
+BuildDate=##BuildDate##
+BuildTime=##BuildTime##
\ No newline at end of file
Index: src/main/org/codehaus/groovy/runtime/InvokerHelper.java
===================================================================
--- src/main/org/codehaus/groovy/runtime/InvokerHelper.java	(revision 18359)
+++ src/main/org/codehaus/groovy/runtime/InvokerHelper.java	(working copy)
@@ -44,6 +44,9 @@
     public    static final Object[] EMPTY_ARGS = {};
     protected static final Object[] EMPTY_ARGUMENTS = EMPTY_ARGS;
     protected static final Class[]  EMPTY_TYPES = {};
+    private static Properties releaseInfo = new Properties();
+    private static String RELEASE_INFO_FILE = "META-INF/release-info.properties";
+    private static String KEY_VERSION = "ImplementationVersion";
 
     public static final MetaClassRegistry metaRegistry = GroovySystem.getMetaClassRegistry();
 
@@ -446,15 +449,23 @@
     }
 
     public static String getVersion() {
-        String version = null;
-        Package p = Package.getPackage("groovy.lang");
-        if (p != null) {
-            version = p.getImplementationVersion();
+        String version = "";
+        if(releaseInfo.isEmpty()) {
+            populateReleaseInfo();
         }
-        if (version == null) {
-            version = "";
+        version = releaseInfo.getProperty(KEY_VERSION);
+        return (version == null ? "" : version);
+    }
+    
+    private static void populateReleaseInfo() {
+        InputStream is = InvokerHelper.class.getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream(RELEASE_INFO_FILE);
+        if(is != null) {
+            try {
+                releaseInfo.load(is);
+            } catch(IOException ioex) {
+                // ignore. In case of some exception, release info is not available
+            }
         }
-        return version;
     }
 
     /**
Index: src/test/groovy/lang/GroovySystemTest.groovy
===================================================================
--- src/test/groovy/lang/GroovySystemTest.groovy	(revision 18359)
+++ src/test/groovy/lang/GroovySystemTest.groovy	(working copy)
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
  * Tests for the GroovySystem class
  *
  * @author Graeme Rocher
+ * @author Roshan Dawrani
  **/
 
 class GroovySystemTest extends GroovyTestCase {
@@ -14,4 +15,8 @@
         assert GroovySystem.metaClassRegistry
         assert GroovySystem.getMetaClassRegistry()
     }
+
+    void testGroovyVersion() {
+        assert GroovySystem.getVersion()
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file