diff --git a/tests/unit/widget/widget_core.js b/tests/unit/widget/widget_core.js
index 364838e3f20..9980d562eeb 100644
--- a/tests/unit/widget/widget_core.js
+++ b/tests/unit/widget/widget_core.js
@@ -9,6 +9,51 @@ module( "widget factory", {
 	}
 });
 
+test( "widget namespaces", function() {
+  var fail = function(msg) { ok(false, msg); };
+
+  var uiPrototype = { 
+    _create: function() { fail( "This widget should not have been instantiated" ); } 
+  };
+
+  var customPrototype = { 
+    _create: function() { ok( true, "Second defined widget is the one that takes over default scope" ) } 
+  }
+
+  $.widget( "ui.testWidget", uiPrototype );
+  $.widget( "custom.testWidget", customPrototype );
+
+  var elem = $( "<div></div>" ).testWidget();
+
+  ok( $.isFunction( $.ui.testWidget ), "constructor was created in the ui namespace" );
+  ok( $.isFunction( $.custom.testWidget ), "constructor was created in the custom namespace" );
+  equals( uiPrototype._create, $.ui.testWidget.prototype._create, "ui widget is in the ui namespace" );
+  equals( customPrototype._create, $.custom.testWidget.prototype._create, "custom namespace is maintained" );
+
+  // Now make sure we can explicitly pick the one we want
+  var which = "neither";
+  $.ui.testWidget.prototype._create = function(){ which = "ui"; };
+  var elem2 = $( "<div></div>" ).ui_testWidget();
+  equals( which, "ui" , "creating a namespaced widget makes the correct one" );
+
+  which = "neither";
+  $.custom.testWidget.prototype._create = function(){ which = "custom"; };
+  var elem3 = $( "<div></div>" ).custom_testWidget();
+  equals( which, "custom", "creating a namespaced widget makes the correct one" );
+
+  // Now make sure we can explicitly pick the one we want via the chained version of namespace.
+  var which = "neither";
+  $.ui.testWidget.prototype._create = function(){ which = "ui"; };
+  var elem2 = $( "<div></div>" ).ui().testWidget();
+  equals( which, "ui" , "creating a namespaced widget with the namespace function makes the correct one" );
+
+  which = "neither";
+  $.custom.testWidget.prototype._create = function(){ which = "custom"; };
+  var elem3 = $( "<div></div>" ).custom().testWidget();
+  equals( which, "custom", "creating a namespaced widget with the namespace function makes the correct one" );
+
+});
+
 test( "widget creation", function() {
 	var myPrototype = {
 		_create: function() {},
@@ -236,7 +281,35 @@ test( ".option() - delegate to ._setOptions()", function() {
 		"_setOptions called with multiple options" );
 });
 
-test( ".option() - delegate to ._setOption()", function() {
+test( ".option() - getter - custom namespace", function() {
+	$.widget( "custom.testWidget", {
+		_create: function() {}
+	});
+
+	var div = $( "<div></div>" ).custom_testWidget({
+		foo: "bar",
+		baz: 5,
+		qux: [ "quux", "quuux" ]
+	});
+
+	same( div.custom_testWidget( "option", "foo"), "bar", "single option - string" );
+	same( div.custom_testWidget( "option", "baz"), 5, "single option - number" );
+	same( div.custom_testWidget( "option", "qux"), [ "quux", "quuux" ],
+		"single option - array" );
+
+	var options = div.custom_testWidget( "option" );
+	same( options, {
+		disabled: false,
+		foo: "bar",
+		baz: 5,
+		qux: [ "quux", "quuux" ]
+	}, "full options hash returned" );
+	options.foo = "notbar";
+	same( div.custom_testWidget( "option", "foo"), "bar",
+		"modifying returned options hash does not modify plugin instance" );
+});
+
+test( ".option() - setter", function() {
 	var calls = [];
 	$.widget( "ui.testWidget", {
 		_create: function() {},
diff --git a/ui/jquery.ui.widget.js b/ui/jquery.ui.widget.js
index bc6408125c7..02a1faa72f3 100644
--- a/ui/jquery.ui.widget.js
+++ b/ui/jquery.ui.widget.js
@@ -75,11 +75,11 @@ $.widget = function( name, base, prototype ) {
 		widgetBaseClass: fullName
 	}, prototype );
 
-	$.widget.bridge( name, $[ namespace ][ name ] );
+	$.widget.bridge( name, namespace, $[ namespace ][ name ] );
 };
 
-$.widget.bridge = function( name, object ) {
-	$.fn[ name ] = function( options ) {
+$.widget.bridge = function( name, namespace, object ) {
+    var bridgeFn = function( options ) {
 		var isMethodCall = typeof options === "string",
 			args = Array.prototype.slice.call( arguments, 1 ),
 			returnValue = this;
@@ -111,18 +111,39 @@ $.widget.bridge = function( name, object ) {
 				}
 			});
 		} else {
+            // Make each element of the jquery list an instance of this widget
 			this.each(function() {
-				var instance = $.data( this, name );
+				var instance = $.data( this, namespace + "." + name );
 				if ( instance ) {
 					instance.option( options || {} )._init();
 				} else {
-					$.data( this, name, new object( options, this ) );
+                    var instance = new object( options, this );
+					$.data( this, name, instance );
+                    $.data( this, namespace + "." + name, instance );
 				}
 			});
 		}
 
 		return returnValue;
 	};
+
+    // Check to see if we aren't the first widget to come this way.
+    if ( $.isFunction( $.fn[ namespace ] ) ) {
+      $.fn[ namespace ][ name ] = bridgeFn; 
+    } else {
+      // Store off the jquery instance so we can get at it in the namespaceFn
+      var jquery_obj = this;
+      var namespaceFn = function() {
+        this[ name ] = bridgeFn;
+        return this;
+      }
+      $.fn[ namespace ] = namespaceFn;
+    }
+
+    // Attach the bridge function to both the raw name - example: `$.sortable()`
+    // And also attach it to a namespaced name         - example: `$.ui_sortable()`
+	$.fn[ name ] = bridgeFn;
+    $.fn[ namespace + "_" + name  ] = bridgeFn;
 };
 
 $.Widget = function( options, element ) {