diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/resources/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/CLIText.properties b/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/resources/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/CLIText.properties
index 1c95fd5f9..b57b1d7f7 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/resources/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/CLIText.properties
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/resources/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/CLIText.properties
@@ -183,6 +183,7 @@ usage_configureTheServiceInDaemonServicename=configure the service in daemon.ser
 usage_createBranchAndCheckout=create branch and checkout
 usage_deleteBranchEvenIfNotMerged=delete branch (even if not merged)
 usage_deleteFullyMergedBranch=delete fully merged branch
+usage_date=date format, one of default, rfc, local, iso, short, raw (as defined by git-log(1) ), locale or localelocal (jgit extensions)
 usage_detectRenames=detect renamed files
 usage_diffAlgorithm=the diff algorithm to use. Currently supported are: 'myers', 'histogram'
 usage_directoriesToExport=directories to export
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/src/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/Log.java b/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/src/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/Log.java
index 6cc009380..f0b2ca90c 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/src/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/Log.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/src/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/Log.java
@@ -47,18 +47,14 @@ package org.eclipse.jgit.pgm;
 
 import java.io.BufferedOutputStream;
 import java.io.IOException;
-import java.text.DateFormat;
 import java.text.MessageFormat;
-import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
 import java.util.List;
-import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
-import java.util.TimeZone;
 
 import org.eclipse.jgit.diff.DiffFormatter;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.diff.RawText;
@@ -73,14 +69,15 @@ import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Ref;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.notes.NoteMap;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.revwalk.RevCommit;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.revwalk.RevTree;
-import org.eclipse.jgit.util.SystemReader;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.util.GitDateFormatter;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.util.GitDateFormatter.Format;
 import org.kohsuke.args4j.Option;
 
 @Command(common = true, usage = "usage_viewCommitHistory")
 class Log extends RevWalkTextBuiltin {
-	private final TimeZone myTZ = SystemReader.getInstance().getTimeZone();
 
-	private final DateFormat fmt;
+	private GitDateFormatter dateFormatter = new GitDateFormatter(
+			Format.DEFAULT);
 
 	private final DiffFormatter diffFmt = new DiffFormatter( //
 			new BufferedOutputStream(System.out));
@@ -102,6 +99,13 @@ class Log extends RevWalkTextBuiltin {
 		additionalNoteRefs.add(notesRef);
 	}
 
+	@Option(name = "--date", usage = "usage_date")
+	void dateFormat(String date) {
+		if (date.toLowerCase().equals(date))
+			date = date.toUpperCase();
+		dateFormatter = new GitDateFormatter(Format.valueOf(date));
+	}
+
 	// BEGIN -- Options shared with Diff
 	@Option(name = "-p", usage = "usage_showPatch")
 	boolean showPatch;
@@ -175,7 +179,7 @@ class Log extends RevWalkTextBuiltin {
 
 
 	Log() {
-		fmt = new SimpleDateFormat("EEE MMM dd HH:mm:ss yyyy ZZZZZ", Locale.US);
+		dateFormatter = new GitDateFormatter(Format.DEFAULT);
 	}
 
 	@Override
@@ -246,10 +250,8 @@ class Log extends RevWalkTextBuiltin {
 
 		final PersonIdent author = c.getAuthorIdent();
 		out.println(MessageFormat.format(CLIText.get().authorInfo, author.getName(), author.getEmailAddress()));
-
-		final TimeZone authorTZ = author.getTimeZone();
-		fmt.setTimeZone(authorTZ != null ? authorTZ : myTZ);
-		out.println(MessageFormat.format(CLIText.get().dateInfo, fmt.format(author.getWhen())));
+		out.println(MessageFormat.format(CLIText.get().dateInfo,
+				dateFormatter.formatDate(author)));
 
 		out.println();
 		final String[] lines = c.getFullMessage().split("\n");
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit.test/tst/org/eclipse/jgit/util/GitDateFormatterTest.java b/org.eclipse.jgit.test/tst/org/eclipse/jgit/util/GitDateFormatterTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a818107f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit.test/tst/org/eclipse/jgit/util/GitDateFormatterTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2011, Robin Rosenberg
+ * and other copyright owners as documented in the project's IP log.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available
+ * under the terms of the Eclipse Distribution License v1.0 which
+ * accompanies this distribution, is reproduced below, and is
+ * available at http://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/edl-v10.php
+ *
+ * All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or
+ * without modification, are permitted provided that the following
+ * conditions are met:
+ *
+ * - Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
+ *   notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
+ *
+ * - Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above
+ *   copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following
+ *   disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided
+ *   with the distribution.
+ *
+ * - Neither the name of the Eclipse Foundation, Inc. nor the
+ *   names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote
+ *   products derived from this software without specific prior
+ *   written permission.
+ *
+ * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND
+ * CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES,
+ * INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES
+ * OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
+ * ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR
+ * CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
+ * SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT
+ * NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
+ * LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER
+ * CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT,
+ * STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)
+ * ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF
+ * ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
+ */
+
+package org.eclipse.jgit.util;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
+
+import org.eclipse.jgit.junit.MockSystemReader;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.PersonIdent;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.util.GitDateFormatter.Format;
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+public class GitDateFormatterTest {
+
+	private MockSystemReader mockSystemReader;
+
+	private PersonIdent ident;
+
+	@Before
+	public void setUp() {
+		mockSystemReader = new MockSystemReader() {
+			@Override
+			public long getCurrentTime() {
+				return 1318125997291L;
+			}
+		};
+		SystemReader.setInstance(mockSystemReader);
+		ident = RawParseUtils
+				.parsePersonIdent("A U Thor <author@example.com> 1316560165 -0400");
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void DEFAULT() {
+		assertEquals("Tue Sep 20 19:09:25 2011 -0400", new GitDateFormatter(
+				Format.DEFAULT).formatDate(ident));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void RELATIVE() {
+		assertEquals("3 weeks ago",
+				new GitDateFormatter(Format.RELATIVE).formatDate(ident));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void LOCAL() {
+		assertEquals("Tue Sep 20 19:39:25 2011", new GitDateFormatter(
+				Format.LOCAL).formatDate(ident));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void ISO() {
+		assertEquals("2011-09-20 19:09:25 -0400", new GitDateFormatter(
+				Format.ISO).formatDate(ident));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void RFC() {
+		assertEquals("Tue, 20 Sep 2011 19:09:25 -0400", new GitDateFormatter(
+				Format.RFC).formatDate(ident));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void SHORT() {
+		assertEquals("2011-09-20",
+				new GitDateFormatter(Format.SHORT).formatDate(ident));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void RAW() {
+		assertEquals("1316560165 -0400",
+				new GitDateFormatter(Format.RAW).formatDate(ident));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void LOCALE() {
+		assertEquals("Sep 20, 2011 7:09:25 PM -0400", new GitDateFormatter(
+				Format.LOCALE).formatDate(ident));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void LOCALELOCAL() {
+		assertEquals("Sep 20, 2011 7:39:25 PM", new GitDateFormatter(
+				Format.LOCALELOCAL).formatDate(ident));
+	}
+}
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit.test/tst/org/eclipse/jgit/util/RelativeDateFormatterTest.java b/org.eclipse.jgit.test/tst/org/eclipse/jgit/util/RelativeDateFormatterTest.java
index 18d4e1060..84b35b4dc 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit.test/tst/org/eclipse/jgit/util/RelativeDateFormatterTest.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit.test/tst/org/eclipse/jgit/util/RelativeDateFormatterTest.java
@@ -119,10 +119,10 @@ public class RelativeDateFormatterTest {
 
 	@Test
 	public void testFormatYearsMonths() {
-		assertFormat(366, DAY_IN_MILLIS, "1 year, 0 month ago");
+		assertFormat(366, DAY_IN_MILLIS, "1 year ago");
 		assertFormat(380, DAY_IN_MILLIS, "1 year, 1 month ago");
 		assertFormat(410, DAY_IN_MILLIS, "1 year, 2 months ago");
-		assertFormat(2, YEAR_IN_MILLIS, "2 years, 0 month ago");
+		assertFormat(2, YEAR_IN_MILLIS, "2 years ago");
 		assertFormat(1824, DAY_IN_MILLIS, "4 years, 12 months ago");
 	}
 
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit/resources/org/eclipse/jgit/JGitText.properties b/org.eclipse.jgit/resources/org/eclipse/jgit/JGitText.properties
index de95b8969..d017bb7ba 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit/resources/org/eclipse/jgit/JGitText.properties
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit/resources/org/eclipse/jgit/JGitText.properties
@@ -493,5 +493,6 @@ year=year
 years=years
 yearsAgo={0} years ago
 yearsMonthsAgo={0} {1}, {2} {3} ago
+years0MonthsAgo={0} {1} ago
 treeWalkMustHaveExactlyTwoTrees=TreeWalk should have exactly two trees.
 cannotBeRecursiveWhenTreesAreIncluded=TreeWalk shouldn't be recursive when tree objects are included.
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/JGitText.java b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/JGitText.java
index 7dbe158ce..ceabe6d38 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/JGitText.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/JGitText.java
@@ -552,6 +552,7 @@ public class JGitText extends TranslationBundle {
 	/***/ public String year;
 	/***/ public String years;
 	/***/ public String yearsAgo;
+	/***/ public String years0MonthsAgo;
 	/***/ public String yearsMonthsAgo;
 	/***/ public String treeWalkMustHaveExactlyTwoTrees;
 	/***/ public String cannotBeRecursiveWhenTreesAreIncluded;
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/util/GitDateFormatter.java b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/util/GitDateFormatter.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2f9a8ddc1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/util/GitDateFormatter.java
@@ -0,0 +1,200 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2011, Robin Rosenberg
+ * and other copyright owners as documented in the project's IP log.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available
+ * under the terms of the Eclipse Distribution License v1.0 which
+ * accompanies this distribution, is reproduced below, and is
+ * available at http://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/edl-v10.php
+ *
+ * All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or
+ * without modification, are permitted provided that the following
+ * conditions are met:
+ *
+ * - Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
+ *   notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
+ *
+ * - Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above
+ *   copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following
+ *   disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided
+ *   with the distribution.
+ *
+ * - Neither the name of the Eclipse Foundation, Inc. nor the
+ *   names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote
+ *   products derived from this software without specific prior
+ *   written permission.
+ *
+ * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND
+ * CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES,
+ * INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES
+ * OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
+ * ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR
+ * CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
+ * SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT
+ * NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
+ * LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER
+ * CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT,
+ * STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)
+ * ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF
+ * ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
+ */
+
+package org.eclipse.jgit.util;
+
+import java.text.DateFormat;
+import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
+import java.util.Locale;
+import java.util.TimeZone;
+
+import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.PersonIdent;
+
+/**
+ * A utility for formatting dates according to the Git log.date formats plus
+ * extensions. <p< The enum {@link Format} defines the available types
+ */
+public class GitDateFormatter {
+
+	private DateFormat dateTimeInstance;
+
+	private DateFormat dateTimeInstance2;
+
+	private final Format format;
+
+	/**
+	 * Git and JGit formats
+	 */
+	static public enum Format {
+
+		/**
+		 * Git format: Time and original time zone
+		 */
+		DEFAULT,
+
+		/**
+		 * Git format: Relative time stamp
+		 */
+		RELATIVE,
+
+		/**
+		 * Git format: Date and time in local time zone
+		 */
+		LOCAL,
+
+		/**
+		 * Git format: ISO 8601 plus time zone
+		 */
+		ISO,
+
+		/**
+		 * Git formt: RFC 2822 plus time zone
+		 */
+		RFC,
+
+		/**
+		 * Git format: YYYY-MM-DD
+		 */
+		SHORT,
+
+		/**
+		 * Git format: Seconds size 1970 in UTC plus time zone
+		 */
+		RAW,
+
+		/**
+		 * Locale dependent formatting with original time zone
+		 */
+		LOCALE,
+
+		/**
+		 * Locale dependent formatting in local time zone
+		 */
+		LOCALELOCAL
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Create a new Git oriented date formatter
+	 *
+	 * @param format
+	 */
+	public GitDateFormatter(Format format) {
+		this.format = format;
+		switch (format) {
+		default:
+			break;
+		case DEFAULT: // Not default:
+			dateTimeInstance = new SimpleDateFormat(
+					"EEE MMM dd HH:mm:ss yyyy Z", Locale.US);
+			break;
+		case ISO:
+			dateTimeInstance = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss Z",
+					Locale.US);
+			break;
+		case LOCAL:
+			dateTimeInstance = new SimpleDateFormat("EEE MMM dd HH:mm:ss yyyy",
+					Locale.US);
+			break;
+		case RFC:
+			dateTimeInstance = new SimpleDateFormat(
+					"EEE, dd MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss Z", Locale.US);
+			break;
+		case SHORT:
+			dateTimeInstance = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd", Locale.US);
+			break;
+		case LOCALE:
+		case LOCALELOCAL:
+			Locale locale = SystemReader.getInstance().getLocale();
+			dateTimeInstance = DateFormat.getDateTimeInstance(
+					DateFormat.DEFAULT, DateFormat.DEFAULT, locale);
+			dateTimeInstance2 = new SimpleDateFormat("Z", locale);
+			break;
+		}
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Format committer, author or tagger ident according to this formatter's
+	 * specification.
+	 *
+	 * @param ident
+	 * @return formatted version of date, time and time zone
+	 */
+	@SuppressWarnings("boxing")
+	public String formatDate(PersonIdent ident) {
+		switch (format) {
+		case RAW:
+			int offset = ident.getTimeZoneOffset();
+			String sign = offset < 0 ? "-" : "+";
+			int offset2;
+			if (offset < 0)
+				offset2 = -offset;
+			else
+				offset2 = offset;
+			int hours = offset2 / 60;
+			int minutes = offset2 % 60;
+			return String.format("%d %s%02d%02d",
+					ident.getWhen().getTime() / 1000, sign, hours, minutes);
+		case RELATIVE:
+			return RelativeDateFormatter.format(ident.getWhen());
+		case LOCALELOCAL:
+		case LOCAL:
+			dateTimeInstance.setTimeZone(SystemReader.getInstance()
+					.getTimeZone());
+			return dateTimeInstance.format(ident.getWhen());
+		case LOCALE:
+			TimeZone tz = ident.getTimeZone();
+			if (tz == null)
+				tz = SystemReader.getInstance().getTimeZone();
+			dateTimeInstance.setTimeZone(tz);
+			dateTimeInstance2.setTimeZone(tz);
+			return dateTimeInstance.format(ident.getWhen()) + " "
+					+ dateTimeInstance2.format(ident.getWhen());
+		default:
+			tz = ident.getTimeZone();
+			if (tz == null)
+				tz = SystemReader.getInstance().getTimeZone();
+			dateTimeInstance.setTimeZone(ident.getTimeZone());
+			return dateTimeInstance.format(ident.getWhen());
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/util/RelativeDateFormatter.java b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/util/RelativeDateFormatter.java
index 203e24799..02acb7ac1 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/util/RelativeDateFormatter.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/util/RelativeDateFormatter.java
@@ -119,8 +119,10 @@ public class RelativeDateFormatter {
 					JGitText.get().year;
 			long months = round(ageMillis % YEAR_IN_MILLIS, MONTH_IN_MILLIS);
 			String monthLabel = (months > 1) ? JGitText.get().months : //
-					JGitText.get().month;
-			return MessageFormat.format(JGitText.get().yearsMonthsAgo,
+					(months == 1 ? JGitText.get().month : "");
+			return MessageFormat.format(
+					months == 0 ? JGitText.get().years0MonthsAgo : JGitText
+							.get().yearsMonthsAgo,
 					new Object[] { years, yearLabel, months, monthLabel });
 		}