diff --git a/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/xml/PointToPointChannelParser.java b/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/xml/PointToPointChannelParser.java
index 34d2532663..6fc85f9c6f 100644
--- a/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/xml/PointToPointChannelParser.java
+++ b/org.springframework.integration/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/xml/PointToPointChannelParser.java
@@ -41,6 +41,8 @@ public class PointToPointChannelParser extends AbstractChannelParser {
 	protected BeanDefinitionBuilder buildBeanDefinition(Element element, ParserContext parserContext) {
 		BeanDefinitionBuilder builder = null;
 		Element queueElement = null;
+
+		// configure a queue-based channel if any queue sub-element is defined
 		if ((queueElement = DomUtils.getChildElementByTagName(element, "queue")) != null) {
 			builder = BeanDefinitionBuilder.genericBeanDefinition(CHANNEL_PACKAGE + ".QueueChannel");
 			boolean hasCapacity = this.parseQueueCapacity(builder, queueElement);
@@ -61,8 +63,24 @@ public class PointToPointChannelParser extends AbstractChannelParser {
 		else if ((queueElement = DomUtils.getChildElementByTagName(element, "rendezvous-queue")) != null) {
 			builder = BeanDefinitionBuilder.genericBeanDefinition(CHANNEL_PACKAGE + ".RendezvousChannel");
 		}
-		else {
-			builder = BeanDefinitionBuilder.genericBeanDefinition(CHANNEL_PACKAGE + ".DirectChannel");
+
+		// verify that the 'task-executor' is not provided if a queue sub-element exists
+		String taskExecutor = element.getAttribute("task-executor");
+		if (queueElement != null && StringUtils.hasText(taskExecutor)) {
+			parserContext.getReaderContext().error("The 'task-executor' attribute " +
+					"and any queue sub-element are mutually exclusive.", element);
+			return null;
+		}
+
+		if (builder == null) {
+			// configure either an ExecutorChannel or DirectChannel based on existence of 'task-executor'
+			if (StringUtils.hasText(taskExecutor)) {
+				builder = BeanDefinitionBuilder.genericBeanDefinition(CHANNEL_PACKAGE + ".ExecutorChannel");
+				builder.addConstructorArgReference(taskExecutor);
+			}
+			else {
+				builder = BeanDefinitionBuilder.genericBeanDefinition(CHANNEL_PACKAGE + ".DirectChannel");
+			}
 			parseDispatcher(element.getAttribute("dispatcher"), builder, parserContext);
 		}
 		return builder;
diff --git a/org.springframework.integration/src/main/resources/org/springframework/integration/config/xml/spring-integration-1.0.xsd b/org.springframework.integration/src/main/resources/org/springframework/integration/config/xml/spring-integration-1.0.xsd
index e9d7b87e33..9adfd196f5 100644
--- a/org.springframework.integration/src/main/resources/org/springframework/integration/config/xml/spring-integration-1.0.xsd
+++ b/org.springframework.integration/src/main/resources/org/springframework/integration/config/xml/spring-integration-1.0.xsd
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@
 	<xsd:element name="channel">
 		<xsd:annotation>
 			<xsd:documentation>
-				Defines a Point-to-Point MessageChannel.
+	Defines a Point-to-Point MessageChannel.
 			</xsd:documentation>
 			<xsd:appinfo>
 				<tool:annotation>
@@ -66,6 +66,21 @@
 						<xsd:element name="interceptors" type="channelInterceptorsType"
 							minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1" />
 					</xsd:sequence>
+					<xsd:attribute name="task-executor" type="xsd:string">
+						<xsd:annotation>
+							<xsd:documentation><![CDATA[
+	Provide a TaskExecutor to use when dispatching Messages to this channel's subscribers. This is
+	mutually exclusive with any of the queue sub-elements. Also, when using a TaskExecutor, keep in
+	mind that any transaction active for the sender will NOT propagate to the handler invocation
+	since the TaskExecutor dispatches to the handler on a separate Thread.
+							]]></xsd:documentation>
+							<xsd:appinfo>
+								<tool:annotation kind="ref">
+									<tool:expected-type type="org.springframework.core.task.TaskExecutor" />
+								</tool:annotation>
+							</xsd:appinfo>
+						</xsd:annotation>
+					</xsd:attribute>
 				</xsd:extension>
 			</xsd:complexContent>
 		</xsd:complexType>