diff --git a/vl.c b/vl.c
index 85bcc84..8592949 100644
--- a/vl.c
+++ b/vl.c
@@ -2012,7 +2012,9 @@ static void main_loop(void)
 
 static void version(void)
 {
-    printf("QEMU emulator version " QEMU_VERSION QEMU_PKGVERSION ", Copyright (c) 2003-2008 Fabrice Bellard\n");
+    /* Change with care, at least libvirt parses this string and is
+     * historically sensitive to its format */
+    printf("QEMU PC emulator version " QEMU_VERSION QEMU_PKGVERSION ", Copyright (c) 2003-2008 Fabrice Bellard\n");
 }
 
 static void help(int exitcode)