diff --git a/RELEASE-NOTES b/RELEASE-NOTES
index 8948fac9ba1..6c6fbc4a6bc 100644
--- a/RELEASE-NOTES
+++ b/RELEASE-NOTES
@@ -102,6 +102,7 @@ it from source control: http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Download_from_SVN
 * (bug 5592) Actions are logged with the default language for the
    wiki, not the language of the user performing the operation.
 * (bug 5644) Error in LanguageBs.php file
+* (bug 5646) Compare for identical types in wfElement()
 
 == Compatibility ==
 
diff --git a/includes/XmlFunctions.php b/includes/XmlFunctions.php
index efb37490d90..fa22540c145 100644
--- a/includes/XmlFunctions.php
+++ b/includes/XmlFunctions.php
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ function wfElement( $element, $attribs = null, $contents = '') {
 	if( is_null( $contents ) ) {
 		$out .= '>';
 	} else {
-		if( $contents == '' ) {
+		if( $contents === '' ) {
 			$out .= ' />';
 		} else {
 			$out .= '>' . htmlspecialchars( $contents ) . "</$element>";