Index: wp-admin/includes/upgrade.php
===================================================================
--- wp-admin/includes/upgrade.php	(revision 12094)
+++ wp-admin/includes/upgrade.php	(working copy)
@@ -162,7 +162,25 @@
 								'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 is the first post of your website, generated automatically, and it contains <em><strong>important</strong> and useful information</em>.  After you read it, you can make it private to hide it from visitors but still have it 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 update notifications</a></li>
+</ul>
+<p>This will help you keep your WordPress site secure and up-to-date.  Once a new version is out, log into the Dashboard and follow the instructions.  Upgrading is a couple of clicks!</p>
+<p>Now you can start enjoying the WordPress experience:</p>
+<ul>
+<li>In Users &#8250; Your Profile you can edit your personal information</li>
+<li>In Plugins &#8250; Add New you can browse and install plugins</li>
+<li>In Appearance &#8250; Add New Themes you can browse and install themes</li>
+<li>In Settings &#8250; Permalinks you can modify and prettify your  website&#8217;s links</li>
+<li>In Tools &#8250; Import you can import content from another system or another WordPress site</li>
+<li>In Posts &#8250; Add New and in Pages &#8250; Add New you can start publishing!</li>
+</ul>
+<p>Thank you for selecting WordPress.  Happy publishing!</p>
+<p>PS.  Not yet subscribed for update notifications?  <a href="http://wordpress.org/download/" title="Subscribe to the WordPress mailing list for Release Notifications"><strong>Do it now!</strong></a></p>
+								'),
 								'post_excerpt' => '',
 								'post_title' => __('Hello world!'),
 								/* translators: Default post slug */