diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Main.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Main.java
index abdadf5d1..e637c3e6e 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Main.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Main.java
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ package org.apache.tools.ant;
 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.input.DefaultInputHandler;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.input.InputHandler;
+import org.apache.tools.ant.util.JavaEnvUtils;
 
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.FileInputStream;
@@ -558,8 +559,8 @@ public class Main {
             // use a system manager that prevents from System.exit()
             // only in JDK > 1.1
             SecurityManager oldsm = null;
-            if (!Project.JAVA_1_0.equals(Project.getJavaVersion()) &&
-                !Project.JAVA_1_1.equals(Project.getJavaVersion())){
+            if (!JavaEnvUtils.isJavaVersion(JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_0) &&
+                !JavaEnvUtils.isJavaVersion(JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_1)){
                 oldsm = System.getSecurityManager();
 
                 //SecurityManager can not be installed here for backwards
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Project.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Project.java
index 833eaf4db..29def65a7 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Project.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Project.java
@@ -64,7 +64,6 @@ import java.util.Enumeration;
 import java.util.Stack;
 import java.lang.reflect.Modifier;
 
-
 import org.apache.tools.ant.types.FilterSet; 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.types.FilterSetCollection; 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.util.FileUtils; 
@@ -111,15 +110,35 @@ public class Project {
      */
     private static final String VISITED = "VISITED";
 
-    /** Version constant for Java 1.0 */
+    /** 
+     * Version constant for Java 1.0 
+     *
+     * @deprecated use org.apache.tools.ant.util.JavaEnvUtils instead
+     */
     public static final String JAVA_1_0 = JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_0;
-    /** Version constant for Java 1.1 */
+    /** 
+     * Version constant for Java 1.1 
+     *
+     * @deprecated use org.apache.tools.ant.util.JavaEnvUtils instead
+     */
     public static final String JAVA_1_1 = JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_1;
-    /** Version constant for Java 1.2 */
+    /**
+     * Version constant for Java 1.2 
+     *
+     * @deprecated use org.apache.tools.ant.util.JavaEnvUtils instead
+     */
     public static final String JAVA_1_2 = JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_2;
-    /** Version constant for Java 1.3 */
+    /** 
+     * Version constant for Java 1.3 
+     *
+     * @deprecated use org.apache.tools.ant.util.JavaEnvUtils instead
+     */
     public static final String JAVA_1_3 = JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_3;
-    /** Version constant for Java 1.4 */
+    /** 
+     * Version constant for Java 1.4 
+     *
+     * @deprecated use org.apache.tools.ant.util.JavaEnvUtils instead
+     */
     public static final String JAVA_1_4 = JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_4;
 
     /** Default filter start token. */
@@ -724,6 +743,7 @@ public class Project {
      * Returns the version of Java this class is running under.
      * @return the version of Java as a String, e.g. "1.1"
      * @see org.apache.tools.ant.util.JavaEnvUtils#getJavaVersion
+     * @deprecated use org.apache.tools.ant.util.JavaEnvUtils instead
      */
     public static String getJavaVersion() {
         return JavaEnvUtils.getJavaVersion();
@@ -744,7 +764,7 @@ public class Project {
         setPropertyInternal("ant.java.version", javaVersion);
 
         // sanity check
-        if (javaVersion == JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_0) {
+        if (JavaEnvUtils.isJavaVersion(JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_0)) {
             throw new BuildException("Ant cannot work on Java 1.0");
         }
 
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/GenerateKey.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/GenerateKey.java
index 3792fade9..06a809c1d 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/GenerateKey.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/GenerateKey.java
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ import java.util.Vector;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Task;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Project;
+import org.apache.tools.ant.util.JavaEnvUtils;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.types.Commandline;
 
 /**
@@ -243,7 +244,7 @@ public class GenerateKey extends Task {
     } 
 
     public void execute() throws BuildException {
-        if (Project.getJavaVersion().equals(Project.JAVA_1_1)) {
+        if (JavaEnvUtils.isJavaVersion(JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_1)) {
             throw new BuildException("The genkey task is only available on JDK"
                                      + " versions 1.2 or greater");
         }
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Get.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Get.java
index 5dfb7d828..1f0c2c330 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Get.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Get.java
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Project;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Task;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.util.FileUtils;
+import org.apache.tools.ant.util.JavaEnvUtils;
 
 /**
  * Get a particular file from a URL source.
@@ -303,7 +304,7 @@ public class Get extends Task {
      * @param v "true" to enable file time fetching
      */
     public void setUseTimestamp(boolean v) {
-        if (Project.getJavaVersion() != Project.JAVA_1_1) {
+        if (JavaEnvUtils.isJavaVersion(JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_1)) {
             useTimestamp = v;
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/SignJar.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/SignJar.java
index ef6422801..7abe1e2a5 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/SignJar.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/SignJar.java
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ import org.apache.tools.ant.DirectoryScanner;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Project;
 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.types.FileSet;
+import org.apache.tools.ant.util.JavaEnvUtils;
 
 /**
  * Sign a archive.
@@ -194,7 +195,7 @@ public class SignJar extends Task {
 
     private void doOneJar(File jarSource, File jarTarget) 
         throws BuildException {
-        if (Project.getJavaVersion().equals(Project.JAVA_1_1)) {
+        if (JavaEnvUtils.isJavaVersion(JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_1)) {
             throw new BuildException("The signjar task is only available on "
                                      + "JDK versions 1.2 or greater");
         }
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Touch.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Touch.java
index 8c2df49d2..ef20af943 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Touch.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Touch.java
@@ -60,15 +60,12 @@ import org.apache.tools.ant.Project;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.DirectoryScanner;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.types.FileSet;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.util.FileUtils;
+import org.apache.tools.ant.util.JavaEnvUtils;
 
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.IOException;
-
-
 import java.text.DateFormat;
 import java.text.ParseException;
-
-
 import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Vector;
 
@@ -189,7 +186,8 @@ public class Touch extends Task {
             }
         }
 
-        if (millis >= 0 && Project.getJavaVersion() == Project.JAVA_1_1) {
+        if (millis >= 0 && 
+            !JavaEnvUtils.isJavaVersion(JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_1)) {
             log("modification time of files cannot be set in JDK 1.1",
                 Project.MSG_WARN);
             return;
@@ -234,7 +232,7 @@ public class Touch extends Task {
                                      + "read-only file " + file);
         }
 
-        if (Project.getJavaVersion() == Project.JAVA_1_1) {
+        if (JavaEnvUtils.isJavaVersion(JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_1)) {
             return;
         }
 
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/Javah.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/Javah.java
index 22ec09ecb..977402c3c 100755
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/Javah.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/Javah.java
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ import org.apache.tools.ant.types.Path;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.types.Reference;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.types.Commandline;
 
-
+import org.apache.tools.ant.util.JavaEnvUtils;
 
 import java.io.File;
 import java.util.Vector;
@@ -280,8 +280,8 @@ public class Javah extends Task {
 
         String compiler = project.getProperty("build.compiler");
         if (compiler == null) {
-            if (Project.getJavaVersion() != Project.JAVA_1_1 &&
-                Project.getJavaVersion() != Project.JAVA_1_2) {
+            if (!JavaEnvUtils.isJavaVersion(JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_1) &&
+                !JavaEnvUtils.isJavaVersion(JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_2)) {
                 compiler = "modern";
             } else {
                 compiler = "classic";
@@ -353,7 +353,7 @@ public class Javah extends Task {
         }
 
         // JDK1.1 is rather simpler than JDK1.2
-        if (Project.getJavaVersion().startsWith("1.1")) {
+        if (JavaEnvUtils.isJavaVersion(JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_1)) {
             if (verbose) {
                 cmd.createArgument().setValue("-v");
             }
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/metamata/AbstractMetamataTask.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/metamata/AbstractMetamataTask.java
index cd6ba582a..5ec37f718 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/metamata/AbstractMetamataTask.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/metamata/AbstractMetamataTask.java
@@ -155,11 +155,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractMetamataTask extends Task {
 
     /**  -mx or -Xmx depending on VM version */
     public void setMaxmemory(String max) {
-        if (Project.getJavaVersion().startsWith("1.1")) {
-            createJvmarg().setValue("-mx" + max);
-        } else {
-            createJvmarg().setValue("-Xmx" + max);
-        }
+        cmdl.setMaxmemory(max);
     }
 
 
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/metamata/MParse.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/metamata/MParse.java
index 6db2eecb8..a218b6a9c 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/metamata/MParse.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/metamata/MParse.java
@@ -146,11 +146,7 @@ public class MParse extends Task {
 
     /**  -mx or -Xmx depending on VM version */
     public void setMaxmemory(String max){
-        if (Project.getJavaVersion().startsWith("1.1")) {
-            createJvmarg().setValue("-mx" + max);
-        } else {
-            createJvmarg().setValue("-Xmx" + max);
-        }
+        cmdl.setMaxmemory(max);
     }
 
     public MParse() {
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/net/SetProxy.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/net/SetProxy.java
index 7535a90bd..11528fded 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/net/SetProxy.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/net/SetProxy.java
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ import java.net.*;
 import java.util.*;
 import java.lang.reflect.*;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.*;
+import org.apache.tools.ant.util.JavaEnvUtils;
 
 /**
  * proxy definition task. This allows all tasks in the build file
@@ -198,7 +199,8 @@ public class SetProxy extends Task {
         
 
         //for Java1.1 we need to tell the system that the settings are new
-        if (settingsChanged && project.getJavaVersion() == Project.JAVA_1_1) {
+        if (settingsChanged &&
+            JavaEnvUtils.isJavaVersion(JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_1)) {
             legacyResetProxySettingsCall(enablingProxy);
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/rmic/DefaultRmicAdapter.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/rmic/DefaultRmicAdapter.java
index 265539ce8..2f34167d7 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/rmic/DefaultRmicAdapter.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/rmic/DefaultRmicAdapter.java
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ import org.apache.tools.ant.types.Commandline;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.types.Path;
 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.util.FileNameMapper;
+import org.apache.tools.ant.util.JavaEnvUtils;
 
 import java.io.File;
 import java.util.Random;
@@ -193,7 +194,7 @@ public abstract class DefaultRmicAdapter implements RmicAdapter {
         cmd.createArgument().setFile(attributes.getBase());
 
         if (attributes.getExtdirs() != null) {
-            if (Project.getJavaVersion().startsWith("1.1")) {
+            if (JavaEnvUtils.isJavaVersion(JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_1)) {
                 /*
                  * XXX - This doesn't mix very well with build.systemclasspath,
                  */
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/Path.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/Path.java
index 2e7900865..f9e4de20a 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/Path.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/Path.java
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.DirectoryScanner;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Project;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.PathTokenizer;
+import org.apache.tools.ant.util.JavaEnvUtils;
 
 import java.io.File;
 
@@ -584,7 +585,7 @@ public class Path extends DataType implements Cloneable {
             
             kaffeJarFiles.setIncludes("*.jar");
             addFileset(kaffeJarFiles);
-        } else if (Project.getJavaVersion() == Project.JAVA_1_1) {
+        } else if (JavaEnvUtils.isJavaVersion(JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_1)) {
             addExisting(new Path(null,
                                  System.getProperty("java.home")
                                  + File.separator + "lib"
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/util/FileUtils.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/util/FileUtils.java
index 9bbd29162..cb8acbbab 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/util/FileUtils.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/util/FileUtils.java
@@ -420,7 +420,7 @@ public class FileUtils {
      * see whether we have a setLastModified method in File and return it.
      */
     protected final Method getSetLastModified() {
-        if (Project.getJavaVersion() == Project.JAVA_1_1) {
+        if (JavaEnvUtils.isJavaVersion(JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_1)) {
             return null;
         }
         if (setLastModified == null) {
@@ -444,7 +444,7 @@ public class FileUtils {
      * Calls File.setLastModified(long time) in a Java 1.1 compatible way.
      */
     public void setFileLastModified(File file, long time) throws BuildException {
-        if (Project.getJavaVersion() == Project.JAVA_1_1) {
+        if (JavaEnvUtils.isJavaVersion(JavaEnvUtils.JAVA_1_1)) {
             return;
         }
         Long[] times = new Long[1];