diff --git a/actionpack/lib/action_controller/base.rb b/actionpack/lib/action_controller/base.rb
index da48dc3255..bcfea86ac4 100755
--- a/actionpack/lib/action_controller/base.rb
+++ b/actionpack/lib/action_controller/base.rb
@@ -728,7 +728,7 @@ def render_javascript(javascript, status = nil)
       end
 
       def render_xml(xml, status = nil)
-        @response.headers['Content-Type'] = 'text/xml; charset=UTF-8'
+        @response.headers['Content-Type'] = 'application/xml'
         render_text(xml, status)
       end