diff --git a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/dispatch/FutureSpec.scala b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/dispatch/FutureSpec.scala
index 15bf70b2e6..4fbb67fbb4 100644
--- a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/dispatch/FutureSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/dispatch/FutureSpec.scala
@@ -64,9 +64,9 @@ class FutureSpec extends AkkaSpec with Checkers with BeforeAndAfterAll with Defa
       val future = Promise[String]().complete(Left(new RuntimeException(message)))
       behave like futureWithException[RuntimeException](_(future, message))
     }
-    "completed with a j.u.c.TimeoutException" must {
-      val message = "Boxed TimeoutException"
-      val future = Promise[String]().complete(Left(new TimeoutException(message)))
+    "completed with an InterruptedException" must {
+      val message = "Boxed InterruptedException"
+      val future = Promise[String]().complete(Left(new InterruptedException(message)))
       behave like futureWithException[RuntimeException](_(future, message))
     }
     "completed with a NonLocalReturnControl" must {
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRef.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRef.scala
index c9da4d5ae7..ee53fec688 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRef.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRef.scala
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit
 import akka.event.EventStream
 import akka.event.DeathWatch
 import scala.annotation.tailrec
-import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap
+import java.util.concurrent.{ ConcurrentHashMap, TimeoutException }
 import akka.event.LoggingAdapter
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean
 
@@ -106,6 +106,8 @@ abstract class ActorRef extends java.lang.Comparable[ActorRef] with Serializable
    * Akka Java API.
    *
    * Sends a message asynchronously returns a future holding the eventual reply message.
+   * The Future will be completed with an [[akka.actor.AskTimeoutException]] after the given
+   * timeout has expired.
    *
    * <b>NOTE:</b>
    * Use this method with care. In most cases it is better to use 'tell' together with the sender
@@ -177,6 +179,9 @@ trait ScalaActorRef { ref: ActorRef ⇒
 
   /**
    * Sends a message asynchronously, returning a future which may eventually hold the reply.
+   * The Future will be completed with an [[akka.actor.AskTimeoutException]] after the given
+   * timeout has expired.
+   *
    * <b>NOTE:</b>
    * Use this method with care. In most cases it is better to use '!' together with implicit or explicit
    * sender parameter to implement non-blocking request/response message exchanges.
@@ -489,6 +494,14 @@ class VirtualPathContainer(val path: ActorPath, override val getParent: Internal
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * This is what is used to complete a Future that is returned from an ask/? call,
+ * when it times out.
+ */
+class AskTimeoutException(message: String, cause: Throwable) extends TimeoutException {
+  def this(message: String) = this(message, null: Throwable)
+}
+
 class AskActorRef(
   val path: ActorPath,
   override val getParent: InternalActorRef,
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRefProvider.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRefProvider.scala
index 115fca87d5..57ef9f108c 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRefProvider.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRefProvider.scala
@@ -6,14 +6,12 @@ package akka.actor
 
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong
 import org.jboss.netty.akka.util.{ TimerTask, HashedWheelTimer }
-import akka.util.Timeout
 import akka.util.Timeout.intToTimeout
 import akka.config.ConfigurationException
 import akka.dispatch._
 import akka.routing._
-import akka.util.Timeout
 import akka.AkkaException
-import akka.util.{ Duration, Switch, Helpers }
+import akka.util.{ Duration, Switch, Helpers, Timeout }
 import akka.event._
 import java.io.Closeable
 
@@ -485,15 +483,15 @@ class LocalActorRefProvider(
 
   def ask(within: Timeout): Option[AskActorRef] = {
     (if (within == null) settings.ActorTimeout else within) match {
-      case t if t.duration.length <= 0 ⇒
-        None
+      case t if t.duration.length <= 0 ⇒ None
       case t ⇒
         val path = tempPath()
         val name = path.name
         val a = new AskActorRef(path, tempContainer, dispatcher, deathWatch)
         tempContainer.addChild(name, a)
-        val f = dispatcher.prerequisites.scheduler.scheduleOnce(t.duration) { tempContainer.removeChild(name); a.stop() }
-        a.result onComplete { _ ⇒
+        val result = a.result
+        val f = dispatcher.prerequisites.scheduler.scheduleOnce(t.duration) { result.failure(new AskTimeoutException("Timed out")) }
+        result onComplete { _ ⇒
           try { a.stop(); f.cancel() }
           finally { tempContainer.removeChild(name) }
         }
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Future.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Future.scala
index 2ce0721f25..59996e9311 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Future.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Future.scala
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ sealed trait Future[+T] extends japi.Future[T] with Await.Awaitable[T] {
 
   protected final def resolve[X](source: Either[Throwable, X]): Either[Throwable, X] = source match {
     case Left(t: scala.runtime.NonLocalReturnControl[_]) ⇒ Right(t.value.asInstanceOf[X])
-    case Left(t: TimeoutException) ⇒ Left(new RuntimeException("Boxed TimeoutException", t))
+    case Left(t: InterruptedException) ⇒ Left(new RuntimeException("Boxed InterruptedException", t))
     case _ ⇒ source
   }
 
diff --git a/akka-docs/java/untyped-actors.rst b/akka-docs/java/untyped-actors.rst
index 23b9c18235..2b9a797b57 100644
--- a/akka-docs/java/untyped-actors.rst
+++ b/akka-docs/java/untyped-actors.rst
@@ -280,8 +280,9 @@ If invoked without the sender parameter the sender will be
 Ask: Send-And-Receive-Future
 ----------------------------
 
-Using ``ask`` will send a message to the receiving Actor asynchronously and
-will immediately return a :class:`Future`:
+Using ``?`` will send a message to the receiving Actor asynchronously and
+will immediately return a :class:`Future` which will be completed with
+an ``akka.actor.AskTimeoutException`` after the specified timeout:
 
 .. code-block:: java
 
diff --git a/akka-docs/scala/actors.rst b/akka-docs/scala/actors.rst
index 13fe9a7d30..12d368d148 100644
--- a/akka-docs/scala/actors.rst
+++ b/akka-docs/scala/actors.rst
@@ -318,7 +318,8 @@ Ask: Send-And-Receive-Future
 ----------------------------
 
 Using ``?`` will send a message to the receiving Actor asynchronously and
-will immediately return a :class:`Future`:
+will immediately return a :class:`Future` which will be completed with
+an ``akka.actor.AskTimeoutException`` after the specified timeout:
 
 .. code-block:: scala