diff --git a/src/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms/Messaging/Nms/Config/MessageListenerContainerObjectDefinitionParser.cs b/src/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms/Messaging/Nms/Config/MessageListenerContainerObjectDefinitionParser.cs
index 1648d67c..fdd66560 100644
--- a/src/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms/Messaging/Nms/Config/MessageListenerContainerObjectDefinitionParser.cs
+++ b/src/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms/Messaging/Nms/Config/MessageListenerContainerObjectDefinitionParser.cs
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ using System;
 using System.Xml;
 using Apache.NMS;
 using Spring.Core.TypeConversion;
+using Spring.Core.TypeResolution;
 using Spring.Messaging.Nms.Listener;
 using Spring.Messaging.Nms.Listener.Adapter;
 using Spring.Objects.Factory.Config;
@@ -89,7 +90,11 @@ namespace Spring.Messaging.Nms.Config
         
         private readonly string CONNECTION_FACTORY_ATTRIBUTE = "connection-factory";
 
+        private readonly string CONTAINER_CUSTOM_TYPE = "container-custom-type";
+
         private readonly string PUBSUB_DOMAIN_ATTRIBUTE = "pubsub-domain";
+
+        private readonly string AUTO_STARTUP = "auto-startup";
         
         #endregion
 
@@ -202,13 +207,44 @@ namespace Spring.Messaging.Nms.Config
         private ObjectDefinitionBuilder ParseContainer(XmlElement listenerElement, XmlElement containerElement,
                                                        ParserContext parserContext)
         {
-            //Only support SimpleMessageListenerContainer
+            //Only support SimpleMessageListenerContainer or container-custom-type
+
+            Type containerType = typeof (SimpleMessageListenerContainer);
+            if (containerElement.HasAttribute(CONTAINER_CUSTOM_TYPE))
+            {
+                string customType = containerElement.GetAttribute(CONTAINER_CUSTOM_TYPE);
+                if (!StringUtils.HasLength(customType))
+                {
+                    parserContext.ReaderContext.ReportException(containerElement, CONTAINER_CUSTOM_TYPE,
+                                            "Listener container '" + CONTAINER_CUSTOM_TYPE +
+                                            "' attribute contains empty value.");
+                }
+                try
+                {
+                    containerType = TypeResolutionUtils.ResolveType(customType);
+                } catch (Exception ex)
+                {
+                    parserContext.ReaderContext.ReportException(containerElement, CONTAINER_CUSTOM_TYPE,
+                            "Invalid container-custom-type value [" + customType + "]", ex);
+                }
+            }            
+
             ObjectDefinitionBuilder containerDef =
-                parserContext.ParserHelper.CreateRootObjectDefinitionBuilder(typeof (SimpleMessageListenerContainer));
+                    parserContext.ParserHelper.CreateRootObjectDefinitionBuilder(containerType);
 
             ParseListenerConfiguration(listenerElement, parserContext, containerDef);
             ParseContainerConfiguration(containerElement, parserContext, containerDef);
 
+
+            if (containerElement.HasAttribute(AUTO_STARTUP))
+            {
+                string autoStartup = containerElement.GetAttribute(AUTO_STARTUP);
+                if (!StringUtils.HasText(autoStartup))
+                {
+                    containerDef.AddPropertyValue("AutoStartup", autoStartup);
+                }
+            }
+
             string connectionFactoryObjectName = "connectionFactory";
             if (containerElement.HasAttribute(CONNECTION_FACTORY_ATTRIBUTE))
             {
@@ -219,6 +255,7 @@ namespace Spring.Messaging.Nms.Config
                                                                 "Listener container '" + CONNECTION_FACTORY_ATTRIBUTE +
                                                                 "' attribute contains empty value.");
                 }
+
             }
 
             containerDef.AddPropertyValue("ConnectionFactory", new RuntimeObjectReference(connectionFactoryObjectName));
@@ -237,10 +274,10 @@ namespace Spring.Messaging.Nms.Config
                 containerDef.AddPropertyValue("SessionAcknowledgeMode", acknowledgementMode);
             }
 
-            int[] concurrency = ParseConcurrency(containerElement, parserContext);
+            string concurrency = ParseConcurrency(containerElement, parserContext);
             if (concurrency != null)
             {
-                containerDef.AddPropertyValue("ConcurrentConsumers", concurrency[1]);
+                containerDef.AddPropertyValue("ConcurrentConsumers", concurrency);
             }
             containerDef.AddPropertyValue("RecoveryInterval", ParseRecoveryInterval(containerElement, parserContext));
 
@@ -358,60 +395,40 @@ namespace Spring.Messaging.Nms.Config
             return AcknowledgementMode.AutoAcknowledge;
         }
 
-        private int[] ParseConcurrency(XmlElement ele, ParserContext parserContext)
+        private string ParseConcurrency(XmlElement ele, ParserContext parserContext)
         {
             string concurrency = ele.GetAttribute(CONCURRENCY_ATTRIBUTE);
             if (!StringUtils.HasText(concurrency))
             {
                 return null;
-            }
-            try
+            } else
             {
-                return new int[] {1, Int32.Parse(concurrency)};
-            }
-            catch (FormatException ex)
+                return concurrency;
+            }            
+        }
+
+        private string ParseRecoveryInterval(XmlElement ele, ParserContext parserContext)
+        {
+            string recoveryInterval = ele.GetAttribute(RECOVERY_INTERVAL_ATTRIBUTE);
+            if (StringUtils.HasText(recoveryInterval))
             {
-                parserContext.ReaderContext.ReportException(ele, CONCURRENCY_ATTRIBUTE,
-                                                            "Invalid concurrency value [" + concurrency + "]: only " +
-                                                            "integer (e.g. \"5\") values upported.", ex);
-                return null;
+                return recoveryInterval;
+                
+            } else
+            {
+                return SimpleMessageListenerContainer.DEFAULT_RECOVERY_INTERVAL;
             }
         }
 
-        private TimeSpan ParseRecoveryInterval(XmlElement ele, ParserContext parserContext)
-        {
-            string recoveryInterval = ele.GetAttribute(RECOVERY_INTERVAL_ATTRIBUTE);
-            if (!StringUtils.HasText(recoveryInterval))
-            {
-                return SimpleMessageListenerContainer.DEFAULT_RECOVERY_INTERVAL;
-            }
-            try
-            {
-                TimeSpanConverter tsc = new TimeSpanConverter();
-                return (TimeSpan)tsc.ConvertFrom(recoveryInterval);
-            } catch (Exception ex)
-            {
-                parserContext.ReaderContext.ReportException(ele, RECOVERY_INTERVAL_ATTRIBUTE,
-                                            "Invalid recovery-interval value [" + recoveryInterval + "]", ex);
-                return SimpleMessageListenerContainer.DEFAULT_RECOVERY_INTERVAL;
-            }
-        }
-        private TimeSpan ParseMaxRecoveryTime(XmlElement ele, ParserContext parserContext)
+        private string ParseMaxRecoveryTime(XmlElement ele, ParserContext parserContext)
         {
             string recoverTime = ele.GetAttribute(MAX_RECOVERY_TIME_ATTRIBUTE);
             if (!StringUtils.HasText(recoverTime))
             {
-                return SimpleMessageListenerContainer.DEFAULT_MAX_RECOVERY_TIME;
+                return recoverTime;
             }
-            try
+            else
             {
-                TimeSpanConverter tsc = new TimeSpanConverter();
-                return (TimeSpan)tsc.ConvertFrom(recoverTime);
-            }
-            catch (Exception ex)
-            {
-                parserContext.ReaderContext.ReportException(ele, MAX_RECOVERY_TIME_ATTRIBUTE,
-                                            "Invalid max-recovery-time value [" + recoverTime + "]", ex);
                 return SimpleMessageListenerContainer.DEFAULT_MAX_RECOVERY_TIME;
             }
         }
diff --git a/src/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms/Messaging/Nms/Config/spring-nms-1.2.xsd b/src/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms/Messaging/Nms/Config/spring-nms-1.2.xsd
index 3ccfe1bb..88cf7d59 100644
--- a/src/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms/Messaging/Nms/Config/spring-nms-1.2.xsd
+++ b/src/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms/Messaging/Nms/Config/spring-nms-1.2.xsd
@@ -40,7 +40,26 @@
 					</xsd:restriction>
 				</xsd:simpleType>
 			</xsd:attribute>
-			<xsd:attribute name="connection-factory" type="xsd:string" default="ConnectionFactory">
+      <xsd:attribute name="container-custom-type" type="xsd:string">
+        <xsd:annotation>
+          <xsd:documentation>
+            <![CDATA[
+	A custom listener container implementation class as fully qualified type name.
+	Default is Spring's SimpleMessageListenerContainer.
+					]]>
+          </xsd:documentation>
+        </xsd:annotation>
+      </xsd:attribute>
+      <xsd:attribute name="auto-startup" type="xsd:boolean" default="true">
+        <xsd:annotation>
+          <xsd:documentation>
+            <![CDATA[
+	Set whether to automatically start the listeners after initialization.  Default is true, optionally set to false.
+					]]>
+          </xsd:documentation>
+        </xsd:annotation>
+      </xsd:attribute>
+      <xsd:attribute name="connection-factory" type="xsd:string" default="ConnectionFactory">
 				<xsd:annotation>
 					<xsd:documentation><![CDATA[
 	A reference to the NMS ConnectionFactory object.
diff --git a/src/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms/Messaging/Nms/Listener/SimpleMessageListenerContainer.cs b/src/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms/Messaging/Nms/Listener/SimpleMessageListenerContainer.cs
index 1d76f511..e9504f51 100644
--- a/src/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms/Messaging/Nms/Listener/SimpleMessageListenerContainer.cs
+++ b/src/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms/Messaging/Nms/Listener/SimpleMessageListenerContainer.cs
@@ -49,12 +49,12 @@ namespace Spring.Messaging.Nms.Listener
         /// <summary>
         /// The default recovery time interval between connection reconnection attempts
         /// </summary>
-        public static TimeSpan DEFAULT_RECOVERY_INTERVAL = new TimeSpan(0,0,0,5,0);
+        public static string DEFAULT_RECOVERY_INTERVAL = "5s";
 
         /// <summary>
         /// The total time connection recovery will be attempted.
         /// </summary>
-        public static TimeSpan DEFAULT_MAX_RECOVERY_TIME = new TimeSpan(0, 0, 10, 0, 0);
+        public static string DEFAULT_MAX_RECOVERY_TIME = "10m";
 
         private bool pubSubNoLocal = false;
 
@@ -66,9 +66,9 @@ namespace Spring.Messaging.Nms.Listener
 
         private object consumersMonitor = new object();
 
-        private TimeSpan recoveryInterval = DEFAULT_RECOVERY_INTERVAL;
+        private TimeSpan recoveryInterval = new TimeSpan(0, 0, 0, 5, 0);
 
-        private TimeSpan maxRecoveryTime = DEFAULT_MAX_RECOVERY_TIME;
+        private TimeSpan maxRecoveryTime = new TimeSpan(0, 0, 10, 0, 0);
             
 
         #endregion
diff --git a/test/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms.Tests/Messaging/Nms/Config/NmsNamespaceHandlerTests.xml b/test/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms.Tests/Messaging/Nms/Config/NmsNamespaceHandlerTests.xml
index 85d88e3c..9025c0a1 100644
--- a/test/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms.Tests/Messaging/Nms/Config/NmsNamespaceHandlerTests.xml
+++ b/test/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms.Tests/Messaging/Nms/Config/NmsNamespaceHandlerTests.xml
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@
 		xmlns:nms="http://www.springframework.net/nms">
 
   <nms:listener-container connection-factory="testConnectionFactory" 
-			destination-resolver="testDestinationResolver" message-converter="testMessageConverter">
+			destination-resolver="testDestinationResolver" message-converter="testMessageConverter" 
+      auto-startup="false" concurrency="${concurrency}">
     <nms:listener id="listener1" destination="testDestination" ref="testObject1" method="SetName"/>
     <nms:listener id="listener2" destination="testDestination" ref="testObject2" method="SetName" 
                   response-destination="responseDestination"/>
@@ -36,5 +37,15 @@
 
   <object id="testObject3"  type="Spring.Messaging.Nms.Connections.TestMessageListener, Spring.Messaging.Nms.Tests"/>
 
+  <object type="Spring.Objects.Factory.Config.VariablePlaceholderConfigurer, Spring.Core">
+    <property name="VariableSources">
+      <list>
+        <object type="Spring.Objects.Factory.Config.ConfigSectionVariableSource, Spring.Core">
+          <property name="SectionNames" value="NmsConfiguration" />
+        </object>
+      </list>
+    </property>
+  </object>
+
 </objects>
 
diff --git a/test/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms.Tests/Spring.Messaging.Nms.Tests.dll.config b/test/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms.Tests/Spring.Messaging.Nms.Tests.dll.config
index 21d4012c..bbaa7231 100644
--- a/test/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms.Tests/Spring.Messaging.Nms.Tests.dll.config
+++ b/test/Spring/Spring.Messaging.Nms.Tests/Spring.Messaging.Nms.Tests.dll.config
@@ -17,11 +17,19 @@ limitations under the License.
 <configuration>
 
   <configSections>
+    <section name="NmsConfiguration" type="System.Configuration.NameValueSectionHandler"/>
+
     <sectionGroup name="common">
       <section name="logging" type="Common.Logging.ConfigurationSectionHandler, Common.Logging" />
     </sectionGroup>
   </configSections>
 
+
+  <NmsConfiguration>
+    <add key="concurrency" value="4"/>
+  </NmsConfiguration>
+
+
   <common>
     <logging>
       <factoryAdapter type="Common.Logging.Simple.ConsoleOutLoggerFactoryAdapter, Common.Logging">