diff --git a/lib/webrat/core/configuration.rb b/lib/webrat/core/configuration.rb
index fe7471d..0e4c522 100755
--- a/lib/webrat/core/configuration.rb
+++ b/lib/webrat/core/configuration.rb
@@ -46,13 +46,17 @@ module Webrat
     # Which server Selenium port is running on. Defaults to 4444
     attr_accessor :selenium_server_port
 
+    # Set the key that Selenium uses to determine the browser running. Default *firefox
+    attr_accessor :selenium_browser_key
+
     def initialize # :nodoc:
       self.open_error_files = true
       self.parse_with_nokogiri = !Webrat.on_java?
       self.application_environment = :selenium
       self.application_port = 3001
-      self.application_address = "localhost"
+      self.application_address = 'localhost'
       self.selenium_server_port = 4444
+      self.selenium_browser_key = '*firefox'
     end
 
     def parse_with_nokogiri? #:nodoc:
diff --git a/lib/webrat/selenium/selenium_session.rb b/lib/webrat/selenium/selenium_session.rb
index c8f9e58..90fdf39 100644
--- a/lib/webrat/selenium/selenium_session.rb
+++ b/lib/webrat/selenium/selenium_session.rb
@@ -185,8 +185,7 @@ module Webrat
         Webrat.start_app_server
       end
 
-      $browser = ::Selenium::Client::Driver.new("localhost", 4444, "*firefox", "http://0.0.0.0:3001")
-      $browser.set_speed(0)
+      create_browser
       $browser.start
       teardown_at_exit
 
@@ -195,6 +194,13 @@ module Webrat
       $browser.window_maximize
     end
 
+
+    def create_browser
+      $browser = ::Selenium::Client::Driver.new(Webrat.configuration.selenium_server_address || "localhost",
+          Webrat.configuration.selenium_server_port, Webrat.configuration.selenium_browser_key, "http://#{Webrat.configuration.application_address}:#{Webrat.configuration.application_port}")
+      $browser.set_speed(0) unless Webrat.configuration.selenium_server_address
+    end
+
     def teardown_at_exit #:nodoc:
       at_exit do
         silence_stream(STDOUT) do
diff --git a/spec/private/core/configuration_spec.rb b/spec/private/core/configuration_spec.rb
index dcc7be2..1b5ee98 100755
--- a/spec/private/core/configuration_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/private/core/configuration_spec.rb
@@ -71,6 +71,10 @@ describe Webrat::Configuration do
     it 'should default selenium server port to 4444' do
       @config.selenium_server_port.should == 4444
     end
+
+    it 'should default selenium browser key to *firefox' do
+      @config.selenium_browser_key.should == '*firefox'
+    end
   end
 
 end
diff --git a/spec/private/selenium/selenium_session_spec.rb b/spec/private/selenium/selenium_session_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d92e497
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/private/selenium/selenium_session_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+require File.expand_path(File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../../spec_helper')
+require "action_controller"
+require "action_controller/integration"
+require "webrat/selenium"
+
+describe Webrat::SeleniumSession do
+
+  describe "create browser" do
+
+    it "should start the local selenium client and set speed to 0 when selenium_server_address is nil" do
+      selenium_session = Webrat::SeleniumSession.new
+      browser = mock "mock browser"
+      ::Selenium::Client::Driver.should_receive(:new).with("localhost", Webrat.configuration.selenium_server_port, "*firefox", "http://#{Webrat.configuration.application_address}:#{Webrat.configuration.application_port}").and_return browser
+      browser.should_receive(:set_speed).with(0)
+      selenium_session.send :create_browser
+    end
+
+    it "should start the remote selenium client when selenium_server_address is set" do
+      Webrat.configuration.selenium_server_address = 'foo address'
+      selenium_session = Webrat::SeleniumSession.new
+      browser = mock "mock browser"
+      ::Selenium::Client::Driver.should_receive(:new).with(Webrat.configuration.selenium_server_address, Webrat.configuration.selenium_server_port, "*firefox", "http://#{Webrat.configuration.application_address}:#{Webrat.configuration.application_port}").and_return browser
+      browser.should_not_receive(:set_speed)
+      selenium_session.send :create_browser
+    end
+
+    it "should use the config specifications" do
+      Webrat.configuration.selenium_server_port = 'selenium port'
+      Webrat.configuration.selenium_server_address = 'selenium address'
+      Webrat.configuration.application_port = 'app port'
+      Webrat.configuration.application_address = 'app address'
+      Webrat.configuration.selenium_browser_key = 'browser key'
+
+      selenium_session = Webrat::SeleniumSession.new
+      browser = mock "mock browser"
+      ::Selenium::Client::Driver.should_receive(:new).with('selenium address',
+                      'selenium port', 'browser key',
+                      "http://app address:app port").and_return browser
+      browser.should_not_receive(:set_speed)
+      selenium_session.send :create_browser
+    end
+  end
+
+end
\ No newline at end of file