diff --git a/app/controllers/application.rb b/app/controllers/application.rb
index 1c0cd85..0958f7a 100644
--- a/app/controllers/application.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/application.rb
@@ -71,7 +71,22 @@ class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
   end
 
   include GetText
-  before_init_gettext :maybe_save_locale
+  before_init_gettext :maybe_save_locale, :default_locale
+  def maybe_save_locale
+    if params[:lang]
+      cookies[:lang] = params[:lang]
+    end
+  end
+  def default_locale
+    if Noosfero.default_locale
+      if cookies[:lang].blank?
+        set_locale Noosfero.default_locale
+      else
+        set_locale cookies[:lang]
+      end
+    end
+  end
+  protected :maybe_save_locale, :default_locale
   init_gettext 'noosfero'
 
   include NeedsProfile
@@ -123,12 +138,6 @@ class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
     current_user.person if logged_in?
   end
 
-  def maybe_save_locale
-    if params[:lang]
-      cookies[:lang] = params[:lang]
-    end
-  end
-
   def load_category
     unless params[:category_path].blank?
       path = params[:category_path].join('/')
diff --git a/app/helpers/language_helper.rb b/app/helpers/language_helper.rb
index 7e9fe53..29e69d7 100644
--- a/app/helpers/language_helper.rb
+++ b/app/helpers/language_helper.rb
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 module LanguageHelper
   def language
-    if Noosfero.available_locales.include?(GetText.locale.to_s) ||
-      Noosfero.available_locales.include?(GetText.locale.language)
-      GetText.locale.language
+    if Noosfero.available_locales.include?(locale.to_s) ||
+      Noosfero.available_locales.include?(locale.language)
+      locale.language
     else
-      Noosfero.default_locale
+      Noosfero.default_locale || 'en'
     end
   end
 
diff --git a/config/environment.rb b/config/environment.rb
index 2359255..217ab1e 100644
--- a/config/environment.rb
+++ b/config/environment.rb
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ Noosfero.locales = {
   'hy' => 'հայերեն լեզու',
 }
 # if you want to override this, do it in config/local.rb !
-Noosfero.default_locale = 'en'
+Noosfero.default_locale = nil
 
 Tag.hierarchical = true
 
diff --git a/features/internationalization.feature b/features/internationalization.feature
index 34f9659..0d4cf07 100644
--- a/features/internationalization.feature
+++ b/features/internationalization.feature
@@ -7,6 +7,12 @@ Feature: internationalization
     When I go to the homepage
     Then the site should be in English
 
+  @default_locale_config
+  Scenario: different default locale configured locally
+    Given Noosfero is configured to use Portuguese as default
+    When I go to the homepage
+    Then the site should be in Portuguese
+
   Scenario: detecting language from browser
     Given my browser prefers Portuguese
     When I go to the homepage
diff --git a/features/step_definitions/internationalization_steps.rb b/features/step_definitions/internationalization_steps.rb
index 5f66230..e133394 100644
--- a/features/step_definitions/internationalization_steps.rb
+++ b/features/step_definitions/internationalization_steps.rb
@@ -21,6 +21,15 @@ def language_to_code(name)
    language_to_header(name)
 end
 
+Given /^Noosfero is configured to use (.+) as default$/ do |lang|
+  Noosfero.default_locale = language_to_code(lang)
+end
+
+After('@default_locale_config') do
+  Noosfero.default_locale = nil
+  GetText.locale = nil
+end
+
 Given /^a user accessed in (.*) before$/ do |lang|
   session = Webrat::Session.new(Webrat.adapter_class.new(self))
   session.extend(Webrat::Matchers)
--
libgit2 0.21.2