diff --git a/wp-includes/wp-db.php b/wp-includes/wp-db.php
index 216c9cf027..920b7f9484 100644
--- a/wp-includes/wp-db.php
+++ b/wp-includes/wp-db.php
@@ -84,9 +84,19 @@ class wpdb {
 
 		$this->ready = true;
 
-		if ( !empty($this->charset) && version_compare(mysql_get_server_info($this->dbh), '4.1.0', '>=') )
- 			$this->query("SET NAMES '$this->charset'");
-
+		if ( $this->supports_collation() ) {
+			$collation_query = '';
+			if ( !empty($this->charset) ) {
+				$collation_query = "SET NAMES '{$this->charset}'";
+				if (!empty($this->collate) )
+					$collation_query .= " COLLATE '{$this->collate}'";
+			}
+			
+			if ( !empty($collation_query) )
+				$this->query($collation_query);
+			
+		}
+		
 		$this->select($dbname);
 	}