diff --git a/src/Composer/Package/Version/VersionSelector.php b/src/Composer/Package/Version/VersionSelector.php
index 202b11883..ce416ca12 100644
--- a/src/Composer/Package/Version/VersionSelector.php
+++ b/src/Composer/Package/Version/VersionSelector.php
@@ -103,10 +103,22 @@ class VersionSelector
         // attempt to transform 2.1.1 to 2.1
         // this allows you to upgrade through minor versions
         $semanticVersionParts = explode('.', $version);
+        $op = '~';
+
         // check to see if we have a semver-looking version
         if (count($semanticVersionParts) == 4 && preg_match('{^0\D?}', $semanticVersionParts[3])) {
             // remove the last parts (i.e. the patch version number and any extra)
-            unset($semanticVersionParts[2], $semanticVersionParts[3]);
+            if ($semanticVersionParts[0] === '0') {
+                if ($semanticVersionParts[2] === '0') {
+                    $semanticVersionParts[2] = '*';
+                    unset($semanticVersionParts[3]);
+                } else {
+                    $semanticVersionParts[3] = '*';
+                }
+                $op = '';
+            } else {
+                unset($semanticVersionParts[2], $semanticVersionParts[3]);
+            }
             $version = implode('.', $semanticVersionParts);
         } else {
             return $prettyVersion;
@@ -118,7 +130,7 @@ class VersionSelector
         }
 
         // 2.1 -> ~2.1
-        return '~'.$version;
+        return $op.$version;
     }
 
     private function getParser()
diff --git a/tests/Composer/Test/Package/Version/VersionSelectorTest.php b/tests/Composer/Test/Package/Version/VersionSelectorTest.php
index 2a9cb45a0..884337396 100644
--- a/tests/Composer/Test/Package/Version/VersionSelectorTest.php
+++ b/tests/Composer/Test/Package/Version/VersionSelectorTest.php
@@ -98,7 +98,10 @@ class VersionSelectorTest extends \PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
             array('v1.2.1', false, 'stable', '~1.2'),
             array('3.1.2-pl2', false, 'stable', '~3.1'),
             array('3.1.2-patch', false, 'stable', '~3.1'),
-            // for non-stable versions, we add ~, but don't try the (1.2.1 -> 1.2) transformation
+            array('0.1.0', false, 'stable', '0.1.*'),
+            array('0.1.3', false, 'stable', '0.1.3.*'),
+            array('0.0.3', false, 'stable', '0.0.3.*'),
+            array('0.0.3-alpha', false, 'alpha', '0.0.3.*@alpha'),
             array('2.0-beta.1', false, 'beta', '~2.0@beta'),
             array('3.1.2-alpha5', false, 'alpha', '~3.1@alpha'),
             array('3.0-RC2', false, 'RC', '~3.0@RC'),