diff --git a/site/plugin.jelly b/site/plugin.jelly
index 72bb766d..e55530e5 100644
--- a/site/plugin.jelly
+++ b/site/plugin.jelly
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@
     </exec>
 
     <exec dir="." executable="${maven.ssh.executable}">
-      <arg line="${pom.siteAddress} -l ${maven.username} 'cd ${maven.homepage};gunzip ${maven.final.name}-site.tar.gz;tar xUvf ${maven.final.name}-site.tar;chmod -R g+u *;rm ${maven.final.name}-site.tar'"/>
+      <arg line="${pom.siteAddress} -l ${maven.username} 'cd ${maven.homepage};${maven.site.gunzip.executable} ${maven.final.name}-site.tar.gz;${maven.site.tar.executable} xUvf ${maven.final.name}-site.tar;chmod -R g+u *;rm ${maven.final.name}-site.tar'"/>
     </exec>
 
     <delete file="${maven.build.dir}/${maven.final.name}-site.tar.gz"/>
diff --git a/site/plugin.properties b/site/plugin.properties
index d0056db8..931a69cd 100644
--- a/site/plugin.properties
+++ b/site/plugin.properties
@@ -10,5 +10,8 @@
 # to copy the site to
 maven.site.deploy.method=ssh
 
+maven.site.tar.executable=tar
+maven.site.gunzip.executable=gunzip
+
 maven.username=USERNAME_NOT_SET
 
diff --git a/site/project.xml b/site/project.xml
index 56ea8e93..5f36ff6e 100644
--- a/site/project.xml
+++ b/site/project.xml
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
   <pomVersion>3</pomVersion>
   <id>maven-site-plugin</id>
   <name>Maven Site Plugin</name>
-  <currentVersion>1.1</currentVersion>
+  <currentVersion>1.2-SNAPSHOT</currentVersion>
   <description/>
   <shortDescription>Java Project Management Tools</shortDescription>
   <url>http://maven.apache.org/reference/plugins/site/</url>
diff --git a/site/xdocs/changes.xml b/site/xdocs/changes.xml
index e99262cc..0e534846 100644
--- a/site/xdocs/changes.xml
+++ b/site/xdocs/changes.xml
@@ -6,16 +6,26 @@
   </properties>
 
   <body>
-    <release version="1.1" date="in CVS">
+
+    <release version="1.2" date="in CVS">
+      <action dev="dion" type="add" due-to="John Casey">
+        Added properties <code>maven.site.gunzip.executable</code>
+        and <code>maven.site.tar.executable</code>
+      </action>
+    </release>
+  
+    <release version="1.1" date="2002-02-12">
       <action dev="dion" type="add" due-to="Alef Arendsen">
         Added ability to deploy via filesystem
       </action>
     </release>
+    
     <release version="1.0" date="2002-08-04">
       <action dev="jvanzyl" type="add">
         Original release for Maven 1.0-beta6
       </action>
     </release>
+
   </body>
 </document>
 
diff --git a/site/xdocs/properties.xml b/site/xdocs/properties.xml
index 8c6568ad..83177439 100644
--- a/site/xdocs/properties.xml
+++ b/site/xdocs/properties.xml
@@ -42,6 +42,25 @@
             The <code>siteDirectory</code> property will be used to copy the site to.
           </td>
         </tr>
+        <tr>
+          <td>maven.site.tar.executable</td>
+          <td>Yes</td>
+          <td>
+            Specifies the executable to use for 'tar' when deploying the site. 
+            Defaults to <code>tar</code>. Override this property if your
+            system has a default version of tar that is failing.
+          </td>
+        </tr>
+        
+        <tr>
+          <td>maven.site.gunzip.executable</td>
+          <td>Yes</td>
+          <td>
+            Specifies the executable to use for 'gunzip' when deploying the site. 
+            Defaults to <code>gunzip</code>. Override this property if your
+            system has a default version of gunzip that is failing.
+          </td>
+        </tr>
       </table>
     </section>
   </body>
