diff --git a/INSTALL b/INSTALL
index 3c8c5605d8..823a0b01bb 100644
--- a/INSTALL
+++ b/INSTALL
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ The two following programs should be available at configuration time:
     as. Otherwise, LyX will not be able to run a number of tests. Note
     that users can run these tests manually with Edit>Reconfigure.
 
-  o Python 1.5.2 or newer installed to be able to import older LyX files
+  o Python 2.3 or newer installed to be able to import older LyX files
     with the lyx2lyx script (this script is called automatically when
     opening a file).
 
diff --git a/INSTALL.scons b/INSTALL.scons
index c1f64648b3..2a43e6245a 100644
--- a/INSTALL.scons
+++ b/INSTALL.scons
@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@ Prerequisites:
 --------------
 
 * Python:
-  Python >= 1.5.2 is required to run scons, but Python >= 2.2 is used by
-  lyx itself so the newer version is recommended. Python is widely 
+  Python >= 1.5.2 is required to run scons, but Python >= 2.3 is used by
+  lyx itself so the newer version is needed. Python is widely
   available on non-windows systems. Windows users can download and install
   python from http://www.python.org.
 
diff --git a/README b/README
index 884325b613..c7ec816d93 100644
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -27,12 +27,12 @@ What do I need to run LyX?
 
     Either of :
     * a Unix-like system (including Windows with cygwin)
-    * Windows 98 or newer  
-    * Mac OS 10.2 or newer  
+    * Windows 98 or newer
+    * Mac OS 10.2 or newer
 
     A decent LaTeX2e installation (e.g. teTeX for unix) not older
        than 1995/12/01.
-    Python 1.5.2 or later to convert old LyX files
+    Python 2.3 or later to convert old LyX files and for helper scripts
 
 How does the LyX version scheme work?
 
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 8def30f010..8650aa044b 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ fi
 AC_CHECK_PROGS(M4, gm4 gnum4 m4, m4)
 
 # Check for installed python
-AM_PATH_PYTHON(1.5.2,, :)
+AM_PATH_PYTHON(2.3,, :)
 
 # Work around a problem in automake 1.4: when invoking install-strip,
 # INSTALL_PROGRAM is changed to 'install -s', and since