diff --git a/proposal/sandbox/dotnet/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/dotnet/AbstractBuildTask.java b/proposal/sandbox/dotnet/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/dotnet/AbstractBuildTask.java
index d6ac81008..078c304f3 100644
--- a/proposal/sandbox/dotnet/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/dotnet/AbstractBuildTask.java
+++ b/proposal/sandbox/dotnet/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/dotnet/AbstractBuildTask.java
@@ -94,6 +94,11 @@ public abstract class AbstractBuildTask extends Task {
      */
     private XMLFragment buildSnippet;
 
+    /**
+     * The vm attribute - if given.
+     */
+    private String vm;
+
     /**
      * Empty constructor.
      */
@@ -119,6 +124,15 @@ public abstract class AbstractBuildTask extends Task {
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Set the name of the executable for the virtual machine.
+     *
+     * @param value the name of the executable for the virtual machine
+     */
+    public void setVm(String value) {
+        this.vm = value;
+    }
+
     /**
      * A target.
      */
@@ -226,6 +240,9 @@ public abstract class AbstractBuildTask extends Task {
         }
 
         DotNetExecTask exec = new DotNetExecTask();
+        if (vm != null) {
+            exec.setVm(vm);
+        }
         exec.setProject(getProject());
         exec.setExecutable(getExecutable());
         exec.setTaskName(getTaskName());