diff --git a/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/internal/core/cdtvariables/EclipseVariablesVariableSupplier.java b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/internal/core/cdtvariables/EclipseVariablesVariableSupplier.java
index aebbbcd413e..8e300fb3651 100644
--- a/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/internal/core/cdtvariables/EclipseVariablesVariableSupplier.java
+++ b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/internal/core/cdtvariables/EclipseVariablesVariableSupplier.java
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import org.eclipse.core.variables.IStringVariable;
 import org.eclipse.core.variables.IStringVariableManager;
 import org.eclipse.core.variables.IValueVariable;
 import org.eclipse.core.variables.VariablesPlugin;
+import org.eclipse.osgi.util.NLS;
 
 /**
  * This supplier suplies the macros that represent the Eclipse variables
@@ -82,7 +83,7 @@ public class EclipseVariablesVariableSupplier implements ICdtVariableSupplier {
 					if (!canExpandVariable(fVariable.getName(), fArgument)) {
 						final String expression= "${"+fName+"}";  //$NON-NLS-1$//$NON-NLS-2$
 						throw new CdtVariableException(ICdtVariableStatus.TYPE_MACRO_REFERENCE_INCORRECT,
-								"Illegal usage of Eclipse variable: " + expression,
+								NLS.bind(Messages.EclipseVariablesVariableSupplier_illegal_variable, expression),
 								null,
 								fVariable.getName(), expression, null);
 					}
diff --git a/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/internal/core/cdtvariables/Messages.java b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/internal/core/cdtvariables/Messages.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..632d8e4ed2b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/internal/core/cdtvariables/Messages.java
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+/*******************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (c) 2009 Wind River Systems, Inc. and others.
+ * All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials
+ * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0
+ * which accompanies this distribution, and is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v10.html
+ *
+ * Contributors:
+ *     Wind River Systems - initial API and implementation
+ *******************************************************************************/
+package org.eclipse.cdt.internal.core.cdtvariables;
+
+import org.eclipse.osgi.util.NLS;
+
+public class Messages extends NLS {
+	private static final String BUNDLE_NAME= "org.eclipse.cdt.internal.core.cdtvariables.messages"; //$NON-NLS-1$
+
+	public static String EclipseVariablesVariableSupplier_illegal_variable;
+	static {
+		// initialize resource bundle
+		NLS.initializeMessages(BUNDLE_NAME, Messages.class);
+	}
+
+	private Messages() {
+	}
+}
diff --git a/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/internal/core/cdtvariables/messages.properties b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/internal/core/cdtvariables/messages.properties
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d76745c8e99
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/internal/core/cdtvariables/messages.properties
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+###############################################################################
+# Copyright (c) 2009 Wind River Systems and others.
+# All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials
+# are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0
+# which accompanies this distribution, and is available at
+# http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v10.html
+#
+# Contributors:
+#     Wind River Systems - initial API and implementation
+###############################################################################
+
+EclipseVariablesVariableSupplier_illegal_variable=Illegal usage of Eclipse variable: {0}