Index: wp-admin/includes/upgrade.php
===================================================================
--- wp-admin/includes/upgrade.php	(revision 12094)
+++ wp-admin/includes/upgrade.php	(working copy)
@@ -162,7 +162,26 @@
 								'post_author' => $user_id,
 								'post_date' => $now,
 								'post_date_gmt' => $now_gmt,
-								'post_content' => __('Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!'),
+								'post_content' => __('
+<p>Welcome to WordPress!  This post contains <strong>important</strong>  information.  After you read it, you can make it private to hide it from visitors but still have the information handy for future reference.</p>
+<p>First things first:</p>
+<ul>
+<li><a href="http://wordpress.org/download/" title="Subscribe to the WordPress mailing list for Release Notifications">Subscribe to the WordPress mailing list for release notifications</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<p>Release notifications will help you keep your WordPress site secure and up-to-date.  When a new version is released, log in to the Dashboard and follow the instructions. Upgrading only takes a couple of clicks!</p>
+<p>Then you can start enjoying the WordPress experience:</p>
+<ul>
+<li>Start publishing at <em>Posts &#8250; Add New</em> and at <em>Pages &#8250; Add New</em>.</li>
+<li>Edit your personal information at <em>Users &#8250; Your Profile</em>.</li>
+<li>Modify and prettify your website&#8217;s links at <em>Settings  &#8250; Permalinks</em>.</li>
+<li>Browse and install plugins at <em>Plugins &#8250; Add New</em>.</li>
+<li>Browse and install themes at <em>Appearance &#8250; Add New Themes</em>.</li>
+<li>Import content from another system or another WordPress site at <em>Tools &#8250; Import</em>.</li>
+<li>Find answers to your questions at the <a href="http://codex.wordpress.org/" title="The official WordPress documentation, maintained by the WordPress community">WordPress Codex</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<p>Thank you for selecting WordPress.  We wish you happy publishing!</p>
+<p>P.S.  Not yet subscribed for update notifications?  <a href="http://wordpress.org/download/" title="Subscribe to the WordPress mailing list for Release Notifications">Do it now!</a></p>
+								'),
 								'post_excerpt' => '',
 								'post_title' => __('Hello world!'),
 								/* translators: Default post slug */