diff --git a/war/plugin.jelly b/war/plugin.jelly
index a35cb830..4f8328ae 100644
--- a/war/plugin.jelly
+++ b/war/plugin.jelly
@@ -117,6 +117,11 @@
           includes="${maven.war.src.includes}"
           excludes="${maven.war.src.excludes}">
         </ant:fileset>
+        <j:if test="${maven.war.property.expansion}" >          
+          <ant:filterchain>
+            <ant:expandproperties/>
+          </ant:filterchain>
+        </j:if>
       </ant:copy>
     </j:if>
     
diff --git a/war/plugin.properties b/war/plugin.properties
index de8add86..a244374f 100644
--- a/war/plugin.properties
+++ b/war/plugin.properties
@@ -31,6 +31,10 @@ maven.war.src=${maven.src.dir}/webapp
 maven.war.src.includes=**
 maven.war.src.excludes=
 
+# Whether to perform property expansion for
+# copied resources.
+maven.war.property.expansion=false
+
 # Location of web.xml file
 maven.war.webxml=${maven.war.src}/WEB-INF/web.xml
 
diff --git a/war/src/plugin-test/test03/LICENSE.txt b/war/src/plugin-test/test03/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6192027b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/war/src/plugin-test/test03/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Sample license
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/war/src/plugin-test/test03/maven.xml b/war/src/plugin-test/test03/maven.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..24b63560
--- /dev/null
+++ b/war/src/plugin-test/test03/maven.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+<!-- 
+/*
+ * Copyright 2001-2004 The Apache Software Foundation.
+ * 
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ * 
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+ -->
+<project xmlns:j="jelly:core"
+         xmlns:assert="assert"
+         xmlns:u="jelly:util">
+
+  <goal name="testPlugin" prereqs="test-war"/>
+  
+  <goal name="test-war" prereqs="clean">
+    <attainGoal name="war"/>
+    <j:set var="warFile" value="${maven.build.dir}/${pom.artifactId}.war"/>
+    <j:set var="warDir" value="${maven.build.dir}/${pom.artifactId}"/>
+    <assert:assertFileExists file="${warFile}"/>
+    <assert:assertFileExists file="${warDir}/WEB-INF/lib/commons-logging-1.0.4.jar"/>
+    
+    <!-- check for index.html content-->
+    <j:set var="unzipDir" value="${maven.build.dir}/unzippedWar"/>
+    <mkdir dir="${unzipDir}"/>
+    <unzip src="${warFile}" dest="${unzipDir}"/>
+
+    <assert:assertFileContains file="${unzipDir}/index.html" match="pom.artifactId"/>
+  </goal>
+</project>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/war/src/plugin-test/test03/project.properties b/war/src/plugin-test/test03/project.properties
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f2c22f2b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/war/src/plugin-test/test03/project.properties
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+maven.war.property.expansion=true
diff --git a/war/src/plugin-test/test03/project.xml b/war/src/plugin-test/test03/project.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..321787a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/war/src/plugin-test/test03/project.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<!--
+/*
+ * Copyright 2001-2004 The Apache Software Foundation.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+ -->
+
+
+<project>
+  <pomVersion>3</pomVersion>
+  <id>test-maven-war-plugin-expand-properties-false</id>
+  <name>Maven War Plugin 03</name>
+  <groupId>maven</groupId>
+  <currentVersion>1.0</currentVersion>
+  <organization>
+    <name>Apache Software Foundation</name>
+    <url>http://www.apache.org/</url>
+    <logo>http://maven.apache.org/images/apache-maven-project.png</logo>
+  </organization>
+  <inceptionYear>2001</inceptionYear>
+  <package>org.apache.maven</package>
+  <logo>http://maven.apache.org/images/maven.gif</logo>
+  <description>Test for Maven War plugin, tests maven.war.property.expansion if false</description>
+  <shortDescription>test for maven.war.property.expansion</shortDescription>
+  <url>http://maven.apache.org/maven-1.x/plugins/war/</url>
+  <siteDirectory>/www/maven.apache.org/maven-1.x/plugins/war/</siteDirectory>
+  <repository>
+    <connection>scm:svn:http://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/maven/maven-1/plugins/trunk/war/</connection>
+    <url>http://svn.apache.org/viewcvs.cgi/maven/maven-1/plugins/trunk/war/</url>
+  </repository>
+  <dependencies>
+    <dependency>
+      <groupId>commons-logging</groupId>
+      <artifactId>commons-logging</artifactId>
+      <version>1.0.4</version>
+      <url>http://jakarta.apache.org/commons/logging.html</url>
+      <properties>
+        <war.bundle>true</war.bundle>
+        <war.manifest.classpath>true</war.manifest.classpath>
+      </properties>
+    </dependency>
+  </dependencies>
+</project>
diff --git a/war/src/plugin-test/test03/src/webapp/index.html b/war/src/plugin-test/test03/src/webapp/index.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..421072b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/war/src/plugin-test/test03/src/webapp/index.html
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+<!-- 
+/*
+ * Copyright 2001-2004 The Apache Software Foundation.
+ * 
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ * 
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+ -->
+<html>
+  <body>
+    <h1>Simple WebApp Home</h1>
+    <p>
+      This is a html page for ${pom.artifactId}
+    </p>
+  </body>
+</html>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/war/src/plugin-test/test04/LICENSE.txt b/war/src/plugin-test/test04/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6192027b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/war/src/plugin-test/test04/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Sample license
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/war/src/plugin-test/test04/maven.xml b/war/src/plugin-test/test04/maven.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ed777934
--- /dev/null
+++ b/war/src/plugin-test/test04/maven.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<!-- 
+/*
+ * Copyright 2001-2004 The Apache Software Foundation.
+ * 
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ * 
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+ -->
+<project xmlns:j="jelly:core"
+         xmlns:assert="assert"
+         xmlns:u="jelly:util">
+
+  <goal name="testPlugin" prereqs="test-war"/>
+  
+  <goal name="test-war" prereqs="clean">
+    <attainGoal name="war"/>
+    <j:set var="warFile" value="${maven.build.dir}/${pom.artifactId}.war"/>
+    <j:set var="warDir" value="${maven.build.dir}/${pom.artifactId}"/>
+    <assert:assertFileExists file="${warFile}"/>
+    <assert:assertFileExists file="${warDir}/WEB-INF/lib/commons-logging-1.0.4.jar"/>
+    
+    <!-- check for index.html content-->
+    <j:set var="unzipDir" value="${maven.build.dir}/unzippedWar"/>
+    <mkdir dir="${unzipDir}"/>
+    <unzip src="${warFile}" dest="${unzipDir}"/>
+
+    <assert:assertFileContains file="${unzipDir}/index.html"
+                               match="test-maven-war-plugin-expand-properties-true"/>
+  </goal>
+</project>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/war/src/plugin-test/test04/project.properties b/war/src/plugin-test/test04/project.properties
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9bf0a69b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/war/src/plugin-test/test04/project.properties
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+
+#
+# Expand properties
+maven.war.property.expansion=true
+
+#
+# Property being replaced
+my.cool.property=${pom.artifactId}
diff --git a/war/src/plugin-test/test04/project.xml b/war/src/plugin-test/test04/project.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..02c19b06
--- /dev/null
+++ b/war/src/plugin-test/test04/project.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<!--
+/*
+ * Copyright 2001-2004 The Apache Software Foundation.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+ -->
+
+
+<project>
+  <pomVersion>3</pomVersion>
+  <id>test-maven-war-plugin-expand-properties-true</id>
+  <name>Maven War Plugin 04</name>
+  <groupId>maven</groupId>
+  <currentVersion>1.0</currentVersion>
+  <organization>
+    <name>Apache Software Foundation</name>
+    <url>http://www.apache.org/</url>
+    <logo>http://maven.apache.org/images/apache-maven-project.png</logo>
+  </organization>
+  <inceptionYear>2001</inceptionYear>
+  <package>org.apache.maven</package>
+  <logo>http://maven.apache.org/images/maven.gif</logo>
+  <description>Test for Maven War plugin, tests maven.war.property.expansion if true</description>
+  <shortDescription>test for maven.war.property.expansion</shortDescription>
+  <url>http://maven.apache.org/maven-1.x/plugins/war/</url>
+  <siteDirectory>/www/maven.apache.org/maven-1.x/plugins/war/</siteDirectory>
+  <repository>
+    <connection>scm:svn:http://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/maven/maven-1/plugins/trunk/war/</connection>
+    <url>http://svn.apache.org/viewcvs.cgi/maven/maven-1/plugins/trunk/war/</url>
+  </repository>
+  <dependencies>
+    <dependency>
+      <groupId>commons-logging</groupId>
+      <artifactId>commons-logging</artifactId>
+      <version>1.0.4</version>
+      <url>http://jakarta.apache.org/commons/logging.html</url>
+      <properties>
+        <war.bundle>true</war.bundle>
+        <war.manifest.classpath>true</war.manifest.classpath>
+      </properties>
+    </dependency>
+  </dependencies>
+</project>
diff --git a/war/src/plugin-test/test04/src/webapp/index.html b/war/src/plugin-test/test04/src/webapp/index.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..63e8ace9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/war/src/plugin-test/test04/src/webapp/index.html
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+<!-- 
+/*
+ * Copyright 2001-2004 The Apache Software Foundation.
+ * 
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ * 
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+ -->
+<html>
+  <body>
+    <h1>Simple WebApp Home</h1>
+    <p>
+      This is a html page for ${my.cool.property}
+    </p>
+  </body>
+</html>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/war/xdocs/changes.xml b/war/xdocs/changes.xml
index af9f22eb..8e54c0e9 100644
--- a/war/xdocs/changes.xml
+++ b/war/xdocs/changes.xml
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
   </properties>
   <body>
     <release version="1.6.2-SNAPSHOT" date="in SVN">
+      <action dev="snicoll" type="update" issue="MPWAR-37" due-to="Troy Poppe">Added ability to expand properties when copying war resources.</action>
       <action dev="snicoll" type="update" issue="MPWAR-39">Updated wrong documentation regarding web.xml filtering.</action>
       <action dev="snicoll" type="update" issue="MPWAR-46">Now filtering when copying resources.</action>
       <action dev="snicoll" type="add" issue="MPWAR-52">Added property <code>maven.war.webxml.overwrite</code> to control if the source web.xml overwrite the one in the generated webapp directory.</action>
diff --git a/war/xdocs/properties.xml b/war/xdocs/properties.xml
index b81523e5..40528083 100644
--- a/war/xdocs/properties.xml
+++ b/war/xdocs/properties.xml
@@ -59,6 +59,14 @@
             by default.
           </td>
         </tr>
+        <tr>
+          <td>maven.war.property.expansion</td>
+          <td>Yes</td>
+          <td>
+            Whether to perform property expansion for copied
+            resources. Default to false.
+          </td>
+        </tr>
         <tr>
           <td>maven.war.webxml</td>
           <td>Yes</td>