diff --git a/projects/samskivert/src/java/com/samskivert/velocity/StringTool.java b/projects/samskivert/src/java/com/samskivert/velocity/StringTool.java
index 5a250f9c..d7105fec 100644
--- a/projects/samskivert/src/java/com/samskivert/velocity/StringTool.java
+++ b/projects/samskivert/src/java/com/samskivert/velocity/StringTool.java
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@
 
 package com.samskivert.velocity;
 
+import java.text.NumberFormat;
+
 import com.samskivert.servlet.util.HTMLUtil;
 import com.samskivert.util.StringUtil;
 
@@ -67,4 +69,12 @@ public class StringTool
     {
         return HTMLUtil.makeParagraphs(text);
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Converts a float to a reasonably formatted string.
+     */
+    public static String format(float value)
+    {
+        return NumberFormat.getInstance().format(value);
+    }
 }