diff --git a/Lib/email/__init__.py b/Lib/email/__init__.py
index 71b5b5d08b5..3ccbc66271e 100644
--- a/Lib/email/__init__.py
+++ b/Lib/email/__init__.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 """A package for parsing, handling, and generating email messages.
 """
 
-__version__ = '2.5'
+__version__ = '2.5a1'
 
 __all__ = [
     'base64MIME',