Index: django/forms/forms.py
===================================================================
--- django/forms/forms.py	(revision 9532)
+++ django/forms/forms.py	(working copy)
@@ -187,15 +187,15 @@
 
     def as_table(self):
         "Returns this form rendered as HTML <tr>s -- excluding the <table></table>."
-        return self._html_output(u'<tr><th>%(label)s</th><td>%(errors)s%(field)s%(help_text)s</td></tr>', u'<tr><td colspan="2">%s</td></tr>', '</td></tr>', u'<br />%s', False)
+        return self._html_output(u'<tr><th>%(label)s</th><td>%(errors)s%(field)s%(help_text)s</td></tr>', u'<tr><td colspan="2">%s</td></tr>', '</td></tr>', u'<br /><span class="helptext">%s</span>', False)
 
     def as_ul(self):
         "Returns this form rendered as HTML <li>s -- excluding the <ul></ul>."
-        return self._html_output(u'<li>%(errors)s%(label)s %(field)s%(help_text)s</li>', u'<li>%s</li>', '</li>', u' %s', False)
+        return self._html_output(u'<li>%(errors)s%(label)s %(field)s%(help_text)s</li>', u'<li>%s</li>', '</li>', u' <span class="helptext">%s</span>', False)
 
     def as_p(self):
         "Returns this form rendered as HTML <p>s."
-        return self._html_output(u'<p>%(label)s %(field)s%(help_text)s</p>', u'%s', '</p>', u' %s', True)
+        return self._html_output(u'<p>%(label)s %(field)s%(help_text)s</p>', u'%s', '</p>', u' <span class="helptext">%s</span>', True)
 
     def non_field_errors(self):
         """
Index: tests/modeltests/model_forms/models.py
===================================================================
--- tests/modeltests/model_forms/models.py	(revision 9532)
+++ tests/modeltests/model_forms/models.py	(working copy)
@@ -431,7 +431,7 @@
 <option value="1">Entertainment</option>
 <option value="2">It&#39;s a test</option>
 <option value="3">Third test</option>
-</select><br /> Hold down "Control", or "Command" on a Mac, to select more than one.</td></tr>
+</select><br /><span class="helptext"> Hold down "Control", or "Command" on a Mac, to select more than one.</span></td></tr>
 
 You can restrict a form to a subset of the complete list of fields
 by providing a 'fields' argument. If you try to save a
@@ -456,7 +456,7 @@
 ...         model = Writer
 >>> f = RoykoForm(auto_id=False, instance=w)
 >>> print f
-<tr><th>Name:</th><td><input type="text" name="name" value="Mike Royko" maxlength="50" /><br />Use both first and last names.</td></tr>
+<tr><th>Name:</th><td><input type="text" name="name" value="Mike Royko" maxlength="50" /><br /><span class="helptext">Use both first and last names.</span></td></tr>
 
 >>> art = Article(headline='Test article', slug='test-article', pub_date=datetime.date(1988, 1, 4), writer=w, article='Hello.')
 >>> art.save()
@@ -486,7 +486,7 @@
 <option value="1">Entertainment</option>
 <option value="2">It&#39;s a test</option>
 <option value="3">Third test</option>
-</select>  Hold down "Control", or "Command" on a Mac, to select more than one.</li>
+</select> <span class="helptext"> Hold down "Control", or "Command" on a Mac, to select more than one.</span></li>
 >>> f = TestArticleForm({'headline': u'Test headline', 'slug': 'test-headline', 'pub_date': u'1984-02-06', 'writer': u'1', 'article': 'Hello.'}, instance=art)
 >>> f.is_valid()
 True
@@ -547,7 +547,7 @@
 <option value="1" selected="selected">Entertainment</option>
 <option value="2">It&#39;s a test</option>
 <option value="3">Third test</option>
-</select>  Hold down "Control", or "Command" on a Mac, to select more than one.</li>
+</select> <span class="helptext"> Hold down "Control", or "Command" on a Mac, to select more than one.</span></li>
 
 >>> f = TestArticleForm({'headline': u'New headline', 'slug': u'new-headline', 'pub_date': u'1988-01-04',
 ...     'writer': u'1', 'article': u'Hello.', 'categories': [u'1', u'2']}, instance=new_art)
@@ -663,7 +663,7 @@
 <option value="1">Entertainment</option>
 <option value="2">It&#39;s a test</option>
 <option value="3">Third</option>
-</select>  Hold down "Control", or "Command" on a Mac, to select more than one.</li>
+</select> <span class="helptext"> Hold down "Control", or "Command" on a Mac, to select more than one.</span></li>
 >>> Category.objects.create(name='Fourth', url='4th')
 <Category: Fourth>
 >>> Writer.objects.create(name='Carl Bernstein')
@@ -690,7 +690,7 @@
 <option value="2">It&#39;s a test</option>
 <option value="3">Third</option>
 <option value="4">Fourth</option>
-</select>  Hold down "Control", or "Command" on a Mac, to select more than one.</li>
+</select> <span class="helptext"> Hold down "Control", or "Command" on a Mac, to select more than one.</span></li>
 
 # ModelChoiceField ############################################################
 
Index: tests/regressiontests/forms/forms.py
===================================================================
--- tests/regressiontests/forms/forms.py	(revision 9532)
+++ tests/regressiontests/forms/forms.py	(working copy)
@@ -1205,20 +1205,20 @@
 ...    password = CharField(widget=PasswordInput, help_text='Choose wisely.')
 >>> p = UserRegistration(auto_id=False)
 >>> print p.as_ul()
-<li>Username: <input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /> e.g., user@example.com</li>
-<li>Password: <input type="password" name="password" /> Choose wisely.</li>
+<li>Username: <input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /> <span class="helptext">e.g., user@example.com</span></li>
+<li>Password: <input type="password" name="password" /> <span class="helptext">Choose wisely.</span></li>
 >>> print p.as_p()
-<p>Username: <input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /> e.g., user@example.com</p>
-<p>Password: <input type="password" name="password" /> Choose wisely.</p>
+<p>Username: <input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /> <span class="helptext">e.g., user@example.com</span></p>
+<p>Password: <input type="password" name="password" /> <span class="helptext">Choose wisely.</span></p>
 >>> print p.as_table()
-<tr><th>Username:</th><td><input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /><br />e.g., user@example.com</td></tr>
-<tr><th>Password:</th><td><input type="password" name="password" /><br />Choose wisely.</td></tr>
+<tr><th>Username:</th><td><input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /><br /><span class="helptext">e.g., user@example.com</span></td></tr>
+<tr><th>Password:</th><td><input type="password" name="password" /><br /><span class="helptext">Choose wisely.</span></td></tr>
 
 The help text is displayed whether or not data is provided for the form.
 >>> p = UserRegistration({'username': u'foo'}, auto_id=False)
 >>> print p.as_ul()
-<li>Username: <input type="text" name="username" value="foo" maxlength="10" /> e.g., user@example.com</li>
-<li><ul class="errorlist"><li>This field is required.</li></ul>Password: <input type="password" name="password" /> Choose wisely.</li>
+<li>Username: <input type="text" name="username" value="foo" maxlength="10" /> <span class="helptext">e.g., user@example.com</span></li>
+<li><ul class="errorlist"><li>This field is required.</li></ul>Password: <input type="password" name="password" /> <span class="helptext">Choose wisely.</span></li>
 
 help_text is not displayed for hidden fields. It can be used for documentation
 purposes, though.
@@ -1228,7 +1228,7 @@
 ...    next = CharField(widget=HiddenInput, initial='/', help_text='Redirect destination')
 >>> p = UserRegistration(auto_id=False)
 >>> print p.as_ul()
-<li>Username: <input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /> e.g., user@example.com</li>
+<li>Username: <input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /> <span class="helptext">e.g., user@example.com</span></li>
 <li>Password: <input type="password" name="password" /><input type="hidden" name="next" value="/" /></li>
 
 Help text can include arbitrary Unicode characters.
@@ -1236,7 +1236,7 @@
 ...    username = CharField(max_length=10, help_text='ŠĐĆŽćžšđ')
 >>> p = UserRegistration(auto_id=False)
 >>> p.as_ul()
-u'<li>Username: <input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /> \u0160\u0110\u0106\u017d\u0107\u017e\u0161\u0111</li>'
+u'<li>Username: <input type="text" name="username" maxlength="10" /> <span class="helptext">\u0160\u0110\u0106\u017d\u0107\u017e\u0161\u0111</span></li>'
 
 # Subclassing forms ###########################################################