diff --git a/WHATSNEW b/WHATSNEW
index dc082ff4b..6b2233a81 100644
--- a/WHATSNEW
+++ b/WHATSNEW
@@ -71,7 +71,8 @@ Other changes:
  * Fixcrlf now gives better error messages on bad directory attributes.
    Bugzilla report 43936
    
-
+ * a new property ant.project.default-target holds the value of the
+   current <project>'s default attribute.
 
 Changes from Ant 1.7.0 TO Ant 1.7.1
 =============================================
diff --git a/docs/manual/using.html b/docs/manual/using.html
index d10f56b64..3ceb05378 100644
--- a/docs/manual/using.html
+++ b/docs/manual/using.html
@@ -307,6 +307,10 @@ ant.file            the absolute path of the buildfile.
 ant.version         the version of Ant
 ant.project.name    the name of the project that is currently executing;
                     it is set in the name attribute of &lt;project&gt;.
+ant.project.default-target
+                    the name of the currently executing project's
+                    default target;  it is set via the default
+                    attribute of &lt;project&gt;.
 ant.java.version    the JVM version Ant detected; currently it can hold
                     the values &quot;1.2&quot;, &quot;1.3&quot;, &quot;1.4&quot; and &quot;1.5&quot;.
 </pre>
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/MagicNames.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/MagicNames.java
index e004cebf7..86a791828 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/MagicNames.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/MagicNames.java
@@ -202,5 +202,15 @@ public final class MagicNames {
      */
     public static final String PROJECT_NAME = "ant.project.name";
 
+    /**
+     * Name of the property holding the default target of the
+     * currently executing project, if one has been specified.
+     *
+     * Value: {@value}
+     * @since Ant 1.8.0
+     */
+    public static final String PROJECT_DEFAULT_TARGET
+        = "ant.project.default-target";
+
 }
 
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Project.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Project.java
index 31854459e..f2f8ffa53 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Project.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Project.java
@@ -674,7 +674,7 @@ public class Project implements ResourceFactory {
      * @see #setDefault(String)
      */
     public void setDefaultTarget(String defaultTarget) {
-        this.defaultTarget = defaultTarget;
+        setDefault(defaultTarget);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -694,6 +694,7 @@ public class Project implements ResourceFactory {
      *                      no default target.
      */
     public void setDefault(String defaultTarget) {
+        setUserProperty(MagicNames.PROJECT_DEFAULT_TARGET,  defaultTarget);
         this.defaultTarget = defaultTarget;
     }
 
diff --git a/src/tests/antunit/core/magic-names-test.xml b/src/tests/antunit/core/magic-names-test.xml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cc82088ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tests/antunit/core/magic-names-test.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+<?xml version="1.0"?>
+<!--
+  Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+  contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+  this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+  The ASF licenses this file to You 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:au="antlib:org.apache.ant.antunit"
+         name="magicnames-test"
+         default="default target">
+
+  <target name="default target"/>
+
+  <target name="testProjectName">
+    <au:assertPropertyEquals
+       name="ant.project.name" value="magicnames-test"/>
+  </target>
+
+  <target name="testDefaultTarget">
+    <au:assertPropertyEquals
+       name="ant.project.default-target" value="default target"/>
+  </target>
+
+</project>