diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index b5eb939..14351a8 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 # In the SVN trunk, the version should always be the next anticipated release
 # version with the "-pre" suffix.  (We used to use "-SNAPSHOT" but this pushed
 # the size of one file name in the dist tarfile over the 99-char limit.)
-AC_INIT([Protocol Buffers],[3.0.0-alpha-2],[protobuf@googlegroups.com],[protobuf])
+AC_INIT([Protocol Buffers],[3.0.0-alpha-3-pre],[protobuf@googlegroups.com],[protobuf])
 
 AM_MAINTAINER_MODE([enable])
 
diff --git a/java/pom.xml b/java/pom.xml
index 75d4c7f..3eb7a70 100644
--- a/java/pom.xml
+++ b/java/pom.xml
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
   </parent>
   <groupId>com.google.protobuf</groupId>
   <artifactId>protobuf-java</artifactId>
-  <version>3.0.0-alpha-2</version>
+  <version>3.0.0-alpha-3-pre</version>
   <packaging>bundle</packaging>
   <name>Protocol Buffer Java API</name>
   <description>
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@
           <instructions>
             <Bundle-DocURL>https://developers.google.com/protocol-buffers/</Bundle-DocURL>
             <Bundle-SymbolicName>com.google.protobuf</Bundle-SymbolicName>
-            <Export-Package>com.google.protobuf;version=3.0.0-alpha-2</Export-Package>
+            <Export-Package>com.google.protobuf;version=3.0.0-alpha-3-pre</Export-Package>
           </instructions>
         </configuration>
       </plugin>
@@ -160,6 +160,64 @@
   </build>
   <profiles>
     <profile>
+      <id>release</id>
+      <build>
+        <plugins>
+          <plugin>
+            <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+            <artifactId>maven-source-plugin</artifactId>
+            <version>2.2.1</version>
+            <executions>
+              <execution>
+                <id>attach-sources</id>
+                <goals>
+                  <goal>jar-no-fork</goal>
+                </goals>
+              </execution>
+            </executions>
+          </plugin>
+          <plugin>
+            <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+            <artifactId>maven-javadoc-plugin</artifactId>
+            <version>2.9.1</version>
+            <executions>
+              <execution>
+                <id>attach-javadocs</id>
+                <goals>
+                  <goal>jar</goal>
+                </goals>
+              </execution>
+            </executions>
+          </plugin>
+          <plugin>
+            <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+            <artifactId>maven-gpg-plugin</artifactId>
+            <version>1.5</version>
+            <executions>
+              <execution>
+                <id>sign-artifacts</id>
+                <phase>verify</phase>
+                <goals>
+                  <goal>sign</goal>
+                </goals>
+              </execution>
+            </executions>
+          </plugin>
+          <plugin>
+            <groupId>org.sonatype.plugins</groupId>
+            <artifactId>nexus-staging-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+            <version>1.6.3</version>
+            <extensions>true</extensions>
+            <configuration>
+               <serverId>sonatype-nexus-staging</serverId>
+               <nexusUrl>https://oss.sonatype.org/</nexusUrl>
+               <autoReleaseAfterClose>false</autoReleaseAfterClose>
+            </configuration>
+          </plugin>
+        </plugins>
+      </build>
+    </profile>
+    <profile>
       <id>lite</id>
       <build>
         <plugins>
diff --git a/javanano/pom.xml b/javanano/pom.xml
index 50056cd..53dd666 100644
--- a/javanano/pom.xml
+++ b/javanano/pom.xml
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
   </parent>
   <groupId>com.google.protobuf.nano</groupId>
   <artifactId>protobuf-javanano</artifactId>
-  <version>3.0.0-alpha-2</version>
+  <version>3.0.0-alpha-3-pre</version>
   <packaging>bundle</packaging>
   <name>Protocol Buffer JavaNano API</name>
   <description>
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@
           <instructions>
             <Bundle-DocURL>https://developers.google.com/protocol-buffers/</Bundle-DocURL>
             <Bundle-SymbolicName>com.google.protobuf</Bundle-SymbolicName>
-            <Export-Package>com.google.protobuf;version=3.0.0-alpha-2</Export-Package>
+            <Export-Package>com.google.protobuf;version=3.0.0-alpha-3-pre</Export-Package>
           </instructions>
         </configuration>
       </plugin>
diff --git a/python/setup.py b/python/setup.py
index c6ff745..b97fdae 100755
--- a/python/setup.py
+++ b/python/setup.py
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@
     os.environ['PROTOCOL_BUFFERS_PYTHON_IMPLEMENTATION'] = 'cpp'
 
   setup(name = 'protobuf',
-        version = '3.0.0-alpha-2',
+        version = '3.0.0-alpha-3-pre',
         packages = [ 'google' ],
         namespace_packages = [ 'google' ],
         google_test_dir = "google/protobuf/internal",
diff --git a/ruby/README.md b/ruby/README.md
index 84f4a77..8331d28 100644
--- a/ruby/README.md
+++ b/ruby/README.md
@@ -72,3 +72,27 @@
 This gem includes the upb parsing and serialization library as a single-file
 amalgamation. It is up-to-date with upb git commit
 `535bc2fe2f2b467f59347ffc9449e11e47791257`.
+
+Version Number Scheme
+---------------------
+
+We are using a version number scheme that is a hybrid of Protocol Buffers'
+overall version number and some Ruby-specific rules. Gem does not allow
+re-uploads of a gem with the same version number, so we add a sequence number
+("upload version") to the version. We also format alphabetical tags (alpha,
+pre, ...) slightly differently, and we avoid hyphens. In more detail:
+
+* First, we determine the prefix: a Protocol Buffers version "3.0.0-alpha-2"
+  becomes "3.0.0.alpha.2". When we release 3.0.0, this prefix will be simply
+  "3.0.0".
+* We then append the upload version: "3.0.0.alpha.2.0" or "3.0.0.0". If we need
+  to upload a new version of the gem to fix an issue, the version becomes
+  "3.0.0.alpha.2.1" or "3.0.0.1".
+* If we are working on a prerelease version, we append a prerelease tag:
+  "3.0.0.alpha.3.0.pre". The prerelease tag comes at the end so that when
+  version numbers are sorted, any prerelease builds are ordered between the
+  prior version and current version.
+
+These rules are designed to work with the sorting rules for
+[Gem::Version](http://ruby-doc.org/stdlib-2.0/libdoc/rubygems/rdoc/Gem/Version.html):
+release numbers should sort in actual release order.
diff --git a/ruby/google-protobuf.gemspec b/ruby/google-protobuf.gemspec
index e294751..371009b 100644
--- a/ruby/google-protobuf.gemspec
+++ b/ruby/google-protobuf.gemspec
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 
 Gem::Specification.new do |s|
   s.name        = "google-protobuf"
-  s.version     = "3.0.0.alpha.2.0"
+  s.version     = "3.0.0.alpha.3.0.pre"
   s.licenses    = ["BSD"]
   s.summary     = "Protocol Buffers"
   s.description = "Protocol Buffers are Google's data interchange format."