--- actionmailer-2.3.2/lib/action_mailer/base.rb	2009-04-21 15:32:23.000000000 +0200
+++ local/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/actionmailer-2.3.2/lib/action_mailer/base.rb	2009-05-08 14:35:07.000000000 +0200
@@ -233,6 +233,9 @@
   # * <tt>default_charset</tt> - The default charset used for the body and to encode the subject. Defaults to UTF-8. You can also
   #   pick a different charset from inside a method with +charset+.
   #
+  # * <tt>default_arguments_charset</tt> - The default charset used for the arguments the ActionMailer was called with. Defaults to UTF-8. You can also
+  #   pick a different charset from inside a method with +arguments_charset+.
+  #
   # * <tt>default_content_type</tt> - The default content type used for the main part of the message. Defaults to "text/plain". You
   #   can also pick a different content type from inside a method with +content_type+.
   #
@@ -290,6 +293,9 @@
     @@default_charset = "utf-8"
     cattr_accessor :default_charset
 
+    @@default_arguments_charset = "utf-8"
+    cattr_accessor :default_arguments_charset
+
     @@default_content_type = "text/plain"
     cattr_accessor :default_content_type
 
@@ -317,6 +323,10 @@
     # +default_charset+ specified for ActionMailer::Base.
     adv_attr_accessor :charset
 
+    # Specify the charset of the arguments the ActionMailer object was created with
+    # if this differs from the :charset 
+    adv_attr_accessor :arguments_charset
+
     # Specify the content type for the message. This defaults to <tt>text/plain</tt>
     # in most cases, but can be automatically set in some situations.
     adv_attr_accessor :content_type
@@ -475,6 +485,7 @@
               :content_type => template.content_type,
               :disposition => "inline",
               :charset => charset,
+              :arguments_charset => arguments_charset,
               :body => render_message(template, @body)
             )
           end
@@ -496,7 +507,7 @@
         # we shift it onto the front of the parts and set the body to nil (so
         # that create_mail doesn't try to render it in addition to the parts).
         if !@parts.empty? && String === @body
-          @parts.unshift Part.new(:charset => charset, :body => @body)
+          @parts.unshift Part.new(:charset => charset, :arguments_charset => arguments_charset, :body => @body)
           @body = nil
         end
       end
@@ -534,6 +545,7 @@
       # defaults.
       def initialize_defaults(method_name)
         @charset ||= @@default_charset.dup
+        @arguments_charset ||= @@default_arguments_charset.dup
         @content_type ||= @@default_content_type.dup
         @implicit_parts_order ||= @@default_implicit_parts_order.dup
         @template ||= method_name
@@ -630,14 +642,15 @@
         parts
       end
 
+
       def create_mail
         m = TMail::Mail.new
 
-        m.subject,     = quote_any_if_necessary(charset, subject)
-        m.to, m.from   = quote_any_address_if_necessary(charset, recipients, from)
-        m.bcc          = quote_address_if_necessary(bcc, charset) unless bcc.nil?
-        m.cc           = quote_address_if_necessary(cc, charset) unless cc.nil?
-        m.reply_to     = quote_address_if_necessary(reply_to, charset) unless reply_to.nil?
+        m.subject,     = quote_any_if_necessary(charset, recode_if_necessary(subject))
+        m.to, m.from   = quote_any_address_if_necessary(charset, recode_if_necessary(recipients), recode_if_necessary(from))
+        m.bcc          = quote_address_if_necessary(recode_if_necessary(bcc), charset) unless bcc.nil?
+        m.cc           = quote_address_if_necessary(recode_if_necessary(cc), charset) unless cc.nil?
+        m.reply_to     = quote_address_if_necessary(recode_if_necessary(reply_to), charset) unless reply_to.nil?
         m.mime_version = mime_version unless mime_version.nil?
         m.date         = sent_on.to_time rescue sent_on if sent_on
 
@@ -647,11 +660,11 @@
 
         if @parts.empty?
           m.set_content_type(real_content_type, nil, ctype_attrs)
-          m.body = normalize_new_lines(body)
+          m.body = normalize_new_lines(recode_if_necessary(body))
         else
           if String === body
             part = TMail::Mail.new
-            part.body = normalize_new_lines(body)
+            part.body = normalize_new_lines(recode_if_necessary(body))
             part.set_content_type(real_content_type, nil, ctype_attrs)
             part.set_content_disposition "inline"
             m.parts << part
--- actionmailer-2.3.2/lib/action_mailer/utils.rb	2009-04-21 15:32:23.000000000 +0200
+++ local/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/actionmailer-2.3.2/lib/action_mailer/utils.rb	2009-05-08 14:35:27.000000000 +0200
@@ -1,7 +1,13 @@
+require 'iconv'
 module ActionMailer
   module Utils #:nodoc:
     def normalize_new_lines(text)
       text.to_s.gsub(/\r\n?/, "\n")
+    end        
+    def recode_if_necessary( str )                                         
+      # charset//IGNORE silently discardes conversion errors
+      # TODO: should we add default replacements when encoding e.g. UTF8 to ISO ? 
+      (!str.blank? && str.kind_of?(String) && charset != arguments_charset) ? Iconv.new(charset+'//IGNORE',arguments_charset).iconv(str) : str
     end
   end
 end
--- actionmailer-2.3.2/lib/action_mailer/part.rb	2009-04-21 15:32:23.000000000 +0200
+++ local/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/actionmailer-2.3.2/lib/action_mailer/part.rb	2009-05-08 13:59:32.000000000 +0200
@@ -15,6 +15,10 @@
     # Specify the charset for this subpart. By default, it will be the charset
     # of the containing part or mailer.
     adv_attr_accessor :charset
+
+    # Specify the charset of the arguments the ActionMailer object was created with
+    # if this differs from the :charset 
+    adv_attr_accessor :arguments_charset
     
     # The content disposition of this part, typically either "inline" or
     # "attachment".
@@ -38,7 +42,8 @@
     def initialize(params)
       @content_type = params[:content_type]
       @content_disposition = params[:disposition] || "inline"
-      @charset = params[:charset]
+      @charset = params[:charset]   
+      @arguments_charset = params[:arguments_charset]
       @body = params[:body]
       @filename = params[:filename]
       @transfer_encoding = params[:transfer_encoding] || "quoted-printable"
@@ -57,11 +62,11 @@
         part.content_transfer_encoding = transfer_encoding || "quoted-printable"
         case (transfer_encoding || "").downcase
           when "base64" then
-            part.body = TMail::Base64.folding_encode(body)
+            part.body = TMail::Base64.folding_encode(recode_if_necessary(body))
           when "quoted-printable"
-            part.body = [normalize_new_lines(body)].pack("M*")
+            part.body = [normalize_new_lines(recode_if_necessary(body))].pack("M*")
           else
-            part.body = body
+            part.body = recode_if_necessary(body)
         end
 
         # Always set the content_type after setting the body and or parts!
@@ -79,7 +84,7 @@
         end        
       else
         if String === body
-          @parts.unshift Part.new(:charset => charset, :body => @body, :content_type => 'text/plain')
+          @parts.unshift Part.new(:charset => charset, :arguments_charset => arguments_charset, :body => @body, :content_type => 'text/plain')
           @body = nil
         end