1 files changed, 7 insertions, 2 deletions
diff --git a/version.rb b/version.rb
index e4fd798d18..c7397c4f15 100644
--- a/version.rb
+++ b/version.rb
@@ -1,9 +1,14 @@
 module Rails
+  # Returns the version of the currently loaded Rails as a <tt>Gem::Version</tt>
+  def self.gem_version
+    Gem::Version.new VERSION::STRING
+  end
+
   module VERSION
     MAJOR = 4
-    MINOR = 1
+    MINOR = 2
     TINY  = 0
-    PRE   = "beta2"
+    PRE   = "alpha"
 
     STRING = [MAJOR, MINOR, TINY, PRE].compact.join(".")
   end