diff --git a/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/BeanDefinitionParserDelegate.java b/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/BeanDefinitionParserDelegate.java
index df22acc2f4..065bd50254 100644
--- a/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/BeanDefinitionParserDelegate.java
+++ b/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/BeanDefinitionParserDelegate.java
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ import org.springframework.util.xml.DomUtils;
  * @author Juergen Hoeller
  * @author Rod Johnson
  * @author Mark Fisher
+ * @author Gary Russell
  * @since 2.0
  * @see ParserContext
  * @see DefaultBeanDefinitionDocumentReader
@@ -1302,13 +1303,24 @@ public class BeanDefinitionParserDelegate {
 			Object value = null;
 			boolean hasValueAttribute = entryEle.hasAttribute(VALUE_ATTRIBUTE);
 			boolean hasValueRefAttribute = entryEle.hasAttribute(VALUE_REF_ATTRIBUTE);
+			boolean hasValueTypeAttribute = entryEle.hasAttribute(VALUE_TYPE_ATTRIBUTE);
 			if ((hasValueAttribute && hasValueRefAttribute) ||
 					((hasValueAttribute || hasValueRefAttribute)) && valueEle != null) {
 				error("<entry> element is only allowed to contain either " +
 						"'value' attribute OR 'value-ref' attribute OR <value> sub-element", entryEle);
 			}
+			if ((hasValueTypeAttribute && hasValueRefAttribute) ||
+				(hasValueTypeAttribute && !hasValueAttribute) ||
+					(hasValueTypeAttribute && valueEle != null)) {
+				error("<entry> element is only allowed to contain a 'value-type' " +
+						"attribute when it has a 'value' attribute", entryEle);
+			}
 			if (hasValueAttribute) {
-				value = buildTypedStringValueForMap(entryEle.getAttribute(VALUE_ATTRIBUTE), defaultValueType, entryEle);
+				String valueType = entryEle.getAttribute(VALUE_TYPE_ATTRIBUTE);
+				if (!StringUtils.hasText(valueType)) {
+					valueType = defaultValueType;
+				}
+				value = buildTypedStringValueForMap(entryEle.getAttribute(VALUE_ATTRIBUTE), valueType, entryEle);
 			}
 			else if (hasValueRefAttribute) {
 				String refName = entryEle.getAttribute(VALUE_REF_ATTRIBUTE);
diff --git a/spring-beans/src/main/resources/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/spring-beans-3.2.xsd b/spring-beans/src/main/resources/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/spring-beans-3.2.xsd
index c8dec32958..48194aeaa6 100644
--- a/spring-beans/src/main/resources/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/spring-beans-3.2.xsd
+++ b/spring-beans/src/main/resources/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/spring-beans-3.2.xsd
@@ -1153,6 +1153,14 @@
 				]]></xsd:documentation>
 			</xsd:annotation>
 		</xsd:attribute>
+		<xsd:attribute name="value-type" type="xsd:string">
+			<xsd:annotation>
+				<xsd:documentation><![CDATA[
+	A short-cut alternative to a 'type' attribute on a nested
+	"<value type='...' >...</value>" element.
+				]]></xsd:documentation>
+			</xsd:annotation>
+		</xsd:attribute>
 	</xsd:complexType>
 
 	<!-- 'props' collection type -->
diff --git a/spring-beans/src/test/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/XmlBeanCollectionTests.java b/spring-beans/src/test/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/XmlBeanCollectionTests.java
index 00e3b20b95..460c18a9f6 100644
--- a/spring-beans/src/test/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/XmlBeanCollectionTests.java
+++ b/spring-beans/src/test/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/XmlBeanCollectionTests.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2009 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2012 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -196,11 +196,15 @@ public class XmlBeanCollectionTests {
 	@Test
 	public void testMapWithLiteralsAndReferences() throws Exception {
 		HasMap hasMap = (HasMap) this.beanFactory.getBean("mixedMap");
-		assertTrue(hasMap.getMap().size() == 3);
+		assertTrue(hasMap.getMap().size() == 5);
 		assertTrue(hasMap.getMap().get("foo").equals(new Integer(10)));
 		TestBean jenny = (TestBean) this.beanFactory.getBean("jenny");
 		assertTrue(hasMap.getMap().get("jenny") == jenny);
 		assertTrue(hasMap.getMap().get(new Integer(5)).equals("david"));
+		assertTrue(hasMap.getMap().get("bar") instanceof Long);
+		assertTrue(hasMap.getMap().get("bar").equals(new Long(100)));
+		assertTrue(hasMap.getMap().get("baz") instanceof Integer);
+		assertTrue(hasMap.getMap().get("baz").equals(new Integer(200)));
 	}
 
 	@Test
diff --git a/spring-beans/src/test/resources/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/collections.xml b/spring-beans/src/test/resources/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/collections.xml
index 9d772d3fd5..44bd0b92dc 100644
--- a/spring-beans/src/test/resources/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/collections.xml
+++ b/spring-beans/src/test/resources/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/collections.xml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 <beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
 		xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
-		xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans-3.0.xsd">
+		xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans-3.2.xsd">
 
 	<bean id="jenny" class="test.beans.TestBean">	
 		<property name="name"><value>Jenny</value></property>
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@
 
 	<bean id="mixedMap" class="org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.HasMap">
 		<property name="map">
-			<map>
+			<map value-type="java.lang.Integer">
 				<entry key-ref="fooKey">
 					<value type="java.lang.Integer">10</value>
 				</entry>
@@ -151,6 +151,8 @@
 					</key>
 					<idref bean="david"/>
 				</entry>
+				<entry key="bar" value="100" value-type="java.lang.Long"/>
+				<entry key="baz" value="200"/>
 			</map>
 		</property>
 	</bean>