diff --git a/org.springframework.web.servlet/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/mvc/annotation/AnnotationMethodHandlerAdapter.java b/org.springframework.web.servlet/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/mvc/annotation/AnnotationMethodHandlerAdapter.java
index fea02c54fb..a3b0605118 100644
--- a/org.springframework.web.servlet/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/mvc/annotation/AnnotationMethodHandlerAdapter.java
+++ b/org.springframework.web.servlet/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/mvc/annotation/AnnotationMethodHandlerAdapter.java
@@ -864,6 +864,9 @@ public class AnnotationMethodHandlerAdapter extends WebContentGenerator
 			if (acceptedMediaTypes.isEmpty()) {
 				acceptedMediaTypes = Collections.singletonList(MediaType.ALL);
 			}
+			else {
+				Collections.sort(acceptedMediaTypes);
+			}
 			HttpOutputMessage outputMessage = new ServletServerHttpResponse(webRequest.getResponse());
 			Class<?> returnValueType = returnValue.getClass();
 			List<MediaType> allSupportedMediaTypes = new ArrayList<MediaType>();
@@ -872,7 +875,7 @@ public class AnnotationMethodHandlerAdapter extends WebContentGenerator
 					allSupportedMediaTypes.addAll(messageConverter.getSupportedMediaTypes());
 					for (MediaType acceptedMediaType : acceptedMediaTypes) {
 						if (messageConverter.canWrite(returnValueType, acceptedMediaType)) {
-							messageConverter.write(returnValue, null, outputMessage);
+							messageConverter.write(returnValue, acceptedMediaType, outputMessage);
 							this.responseArgumentUsed = true;
 							return;
 						}
diff --git a/org.springframework.web/src/main/java/org/springframework/http/converter/AbstractHttpMessageConverter.java b/org.springframework.web/src/main/java/org/springframework/http/converter/AbstractHttpMessageConverter.java
index 555631e2bd..19a56319ad 100644
--- a/org.springframework.web/src/main/java/org/springframework/http/converter/AbstractHttpMessageConverter.java
+++ b/org.springframework.web/src/main/java/org/springframework/http/converter/AbstractHttpMessageConverter.java
@@ -92,7 +92,26 @@ public abstract class AbstractHttpMessageConverter<T> implements HttpMessageConv
 	 * type.
 	 */
 	public boolean canRead(Class<? extends T> clazz, MediaType mediaType) {
-		return supports(clazz) && isSupported(mediaType);
+		return supports(clazz) && canRead(mediaType);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Returns true if any of the {@linkplain #setSupportedMediaTypes(List) supported media types} include the given media
+	 * type.
+	 *
+	 * @param mediaType the media type
+	 * @return true if the supported media types include the media type, or if the media type is {@code null}
+	 */
+	protected boolean canRead(MediaType mediaType) {
+		if (mediaType == null) {
+			return true;
+		}
+		for (MediaType supportedMediaType : getSupportedMediaTypes()) {
+			if (supportedMediaType.includes(mediaType)) {
+				return true;
+			}
+		}
+		return false;
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -103,22 +122,22 @@ public abstract class AbstractHttpMessageConverter<T> implements HttpMessageConv
 	 * type.
 	 */
 	public boolean canWrite(Class<? extends T> clazz, MediaType mediaType) {
-		return supports(clazz) && isSupported(mediaType);
+		return supports(clazz) && canWrite(mediaType);
 	}
 
 	/**
-	 * Returns true if any of the {@linkplain #setSupportedMediaTypes(List) supported media types} include the given media
-	 * type.
+	 * Returns true if the given media type includes any of the
+	 * {@linkplain #setSupportedMediaTypes(List) supported media types}.
 	 *
 	 * @param mediaType the media type
 	 * @return true if the supported media types include the media type, or if the media type is {@code null}
 	 */
-	protected boolean isSupported(MediaType mediaType) {
+	protected boolean canWrite(MediaType mediaType) {
 		if (mediaType == null) {
 			return true;
 		}
 		for (MediaType supportedMediaType : getSupportedMediaTypes()) {
-			if (supportedMediaType.includes(mediaType)) {
+			if (mediaType.includes(supportedMediaType)) {
 				return true;
 			}
 		}
@@ -165,7 +184,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractHttpMessageConverter<T> implements HttpMessageConv
 	public final void write(T t, MediaType contentType, HttpOutputMessage outputMessage)
 			throws IOException, HttpMessageNotWritableException {
 		HttpHeaders headers = outputMessage.getHeaders();
-		if (contentType == null) {
+		if (contentType == null || contentType.isWildcardType() || contentType.isWildcardSubtype()) {
 			contentType = getDefaultContentType(t);
 		}
 		if (contentType != null) {
diff --git a/org.springframework.web/src/main/java/org/springframework/http/converter/json/MappingJacksonHttpMessageConverter.java b/org.springframework.web/src/main/java/org/springframework/http/converter/json/MappingJacksonHttpMessageConverter.java
index 7e1e78a22d..c8ce393d90 100644
--- a/org.springframework.web/src/main/java/org/springframework/http/converter/json/MappingJacksonHttpMessageConverter.java
+++ b/org.springframework.web/src/main/java/org/springframework/http/converter/json/MappingJacksonHttpMessageConverter.java
@@ -89,12 +89,12 @@ public class MappingJacksonHttpMessageConverter extends AbstractHttpMessageConve
 	@Override
 	public boolean canRead(Class<?> clazz, MediaType mediaType) {
 		JavaType javaType = TypeFactory.fromClass(clazz);
-		return objectMapper.canDeserialize(javaType) && isSupported(mediaType);
+		return objectMapper.canDeserialize(javaType) && canRead(mediaType);
 	}
 
 	@Override
 	public boolean canWrite(Class<?> clazz, MediaType mediaType) {
-		return objectMapper.canSerialize(clazz) && isSupported(mediaType);
+		return objectMapper.canSerialize(clazz) && canWrite(mediaType);
 	}
 
 	@Override
diff --git a/org.springframework.web/src/main/java/org/springframework/http/converter/xml/Jaxb2RootElementHttpMessageConverter.java b/org.springframework.web/src/main/java/org/springframework/http/converter/xml/Jaxb2RootElementHttpMessageConverter.java
index 10b3294be1..8eb0fbfb4c 100644
--- a/org.springframework.web/src/main/java/org/springframework/http/converter/xml/Jaxb2RootElementHttpMessageConverter.java
+++ b/org.springframework.web/src/main/java/org/springframework/http/converter/xml/Jaxb2RootElementHttpMessageConverter.java
@@ -52,12 +52,12 @@ public class Jaxb2RootElementHttpMessageConverter extends AbstractJaxb2HttpMessa
 	@Override
 	public boolean canRead(Class<?> clazz, MediaType mediaType) {
 		return (clazz.isAnnotationPresent(XmlRootElement.class) || clazz.isAnnotationPresent(XmlType.class)) &&
-				isSupported(mediaType);
+				canRead(mediaType);
 	}
 
 	@Override
 	public boolean canWrite(Class<?> clazz, MediaType mediaType) {
-		return AnnotationUtils.findAnnotation(clazz, XmlRootElement.class) != null && isSupported(mediaType);
+		return AnnotationUtils.findAnnotation(clazz, XmlRootElement.class) != null && canWrite(mediaType);
 	}
 
 	@Override
diff --git a/org.springframework.web/src/test/java/org/springframework/http/converter/ByteArrayHttpMessageConverterTests.java b/org.springframework.web/src/test/java/org/springframework/http/converter/ByteArrayHttpMessageConverterTests.java
index 3a0c22cdb1..4b8eda8400 100644
--- a/org.springframework.web/src/test/java/org/springframework/http/converter/ByteArrayHttpMessageConverterTests.java
+++ b/org.springframework.web/src/test/java/org/springframework/http/converter/ByteArrayHttpMessageConverterTests.java
@@ -36,6 +36,17 @@ public class ByteArrayHttpMessageConverterTests {
 		converter = new ByteArrayHttpMessageConverter();
 	}
 
+	@Test
+	public void canRead() {
+		assertTrue(converter.canRead(byte[].class, new MediaType("application", "octet-stream")));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void canWrite() {
+		assertTrue(converter.canWrite(byte[].class, new MediaType("application", "octet-stream")));
+		assertTrue(converter.canWrite(byte[].class, MediaType.ALL));
+	}
+
 	@Test
 	public void read() throws IOException {
 		byte[] body = new byte[]{0x1, 0x2};
diff --git a/org.springframework.web/src/test/java/org/springframework/http/converter/FormHttpMessageConverterTests.java b/org.springframework.web/src/test/java/org/springframework/http/converter/FormHttpMessageConverterTests.java
index f795bf2e57..fedc3bbae6 100644
--- a/org.springframework.web/src/test/java/org/springframework/http/converter/FormHttpMessageConverterTests.java
+++ b/org.springframework.web/src/test/java/org/springframework/http/converter/FormHttpMessageConverterTests.java
@@ -40,6 +40,19 @@ public class FormHttpMessageConverterTests {
 		converter = new FormHttpMessageConverter();
 	}
 
+	@Test
+	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+	public void canRead() {
+		assertTrue(converter.canRead((Class<? extends MultiValueMap<String, String>>) MultiValueMap.class, new MediaType("application", "x-www-form-urlencoded")));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+	public void canWrite() {
+		assertTrue(converter.canWrite((Class<? extends MultiValueMap<String, String>>) MultiValueMap.class, new MediaType("application", "x-www-form-urlencoded")));
+		assertTrue(converter.canWrite((Class<? extends MultiValueMap<String, String>>) MultiValueMap.class, MediaType.ALL));
+	}
+
 	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
 	@Test
 	public void read() throws Exception {
diff --git a/org.springframework.web/src/test/java/org/springframework/http/converter/HttpMessageConverterTests.java b/org.springframework.web/src/test/java/org/springframework/http/converter/HttpMessageConverterTests.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7768680892
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.web/src/test/java/org/springframework/http/converter/HttpMessageConverterTests.java
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2002-2010 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.http.converter;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import static org.junit.Assert.*;
+
+import org.springframework.http.HttpInputMessage;
+import org.springframework.http.HttpOutputMessage;
+import org.springframework.http.MediaType;
+
+/**
+ * Test-case for AbstractHttpMessageConverter.
+ *
+ * @author Arjen Poutsma
+ */
+public class HttpMessageConverterTests {
+
+	private static final MediaType MEDIA_TYPE = new MediaType("foo", "bar");
+
+	@Test
+	public void canRead() {
+		AbstractHttpMessageConverter<MyType> converter = new MyHttpMessageConverter<MyType>(MEDIA_TYPE) {
+			@Override
+			protected boolean supports(Class<? extends MyType> clazz) {
+				return MyType.class.equals(clazz);
+			}
+
+		};
+
+		assertTrue(converter.canRead(MyType.class, MEDIA_TYPE));
+		assertFalse(converter.canRead(MyType.class, new MediaType("foo", "*")));
+		assertFalse(converter.canRead(MyType.class, MediaType.ALL));
+	}
+	
+	@Test
+	public void canWrite() {
+		AbstractHttpMessageConverter<MyType> converter = new MyHttpMessageConverter<MyType>(MEDIA_TYPE) {
+			@Override
+			protected boolean supports(Class<? extends MyType> clazz) {
+				return MyType.class.equals(clazz);
+			}
+
+		};
+
+		assertTrue(converter.canWrite(MyType.class, MEDIA_TYPE));
+		assertTrue(converter.canWrite(MyType.class, new MediaType("foo", "*")));
+		assertTrue(converter.canWrite(MyType.class, MediaType.ALL));
+	}
+
+
+	private static class MyHttpMessageConverter<T> extends AbstractHttpMessageConverter<T> {
+
+		private MyHttpMessageConverter(MediaType supportedMediaType) {
+			super(supportedMediaType);
+		}
+
+		@Override
+		protected boolean supports(Class<? extends T> clazz) {
+			fail("Not expected");
+			return false;
+		}
+
+		@Override
+		protected T readInternal(Class<T> clazz, HttpInputMessage inputMessage)
+				throws IOException, HttpMessageNotReadableException {
+			fail("Not expected");
+			return null;
+		}
+
+		@Override
+		protected void writeInternal(T t, HttpOutputMessage outputMessage)
+				throws IOException, HttpMessageNotWritableException {
+			fail("Not expected");
+		}
+	}
+
+	private static class MyType {
+
+	}
+}
diff --git a/org.springframework.web/src/test/java/org/springframework/http/converter/StringHttpMessageConverterTests.java b/org.springframework.web/src/test/java/org/springframework/http/converter/StringHttpMessageConverterTests.java
index 502edadebe..f605b2c1fe 100644
--- a/org.springframework.web/src/test/java/org/springframework/http/converter/StringHttpMessageConverterTests.java
+++ b/org.springframework.web/src/test/java/org/springframework/http/converter/StringHttpMessageConverterTests.java
@@ -37,6 +37,17 @@ public class StringHttpMessageConverterTests {
 		converter = new StringHttpMessageConverter();
 	}
 
+	@Test
+	public void canRead() {
+		assertTrue(converter.canRead(String.class, new MediaType("text", "plain")));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void canWrite() {
+		assertTrue(converter.canWrite(String.class, new MediaType("text", "plain")));
+		assertTrue(converter.canWrite(String.class, MediaType.ALL));
+	}
+
 	@Test
 	public void read() throws IOException {
 		String body = "Hello World";