diff --git a/js/ui/messageTray.js b/js/ui/messageTray.js
index 990320fa0..1391aac39 100644
--- a/js/ui/messageTray.js
+++ b/js/ui/messageTray.js
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ const St = imports.gi.St;
 const Tweener = imports.ui.tweener;
 
 const Main = imports.ui.main;
+const Params = imports.misc.params;
 
 const ANIMATION_TIME = 0.2;
 const NOTIFICATION_TIMEOUT = 4;
@@ -43,7 +44,7 @@ function _cleanMarkup(text) {
 // @source: the notification's Source
 // @title: the title
 // @banner: the banner text
-// @bannerBody: whether or not to promote the banner to the body on overflow
+// @params: optional additional params
 //
 // Creates a notification. In banner mode, it will show
 // @source's icon, @title (in bold) and @banner, all on a single line
@@ -59,19 +60,22 @@ function _cleanMarkup(text) {
 // scrolled and can contain a single actor. There are also convenience
 // methods for creating a button box in the action area.
 //
-// If @bannerBody is %true, then @banner will also be used as the body
-// of the notification (as with addBody()) when the banner is expanded.
-// In this case, if @banner is too long to fit in the single-line mode,
-// the notification will be made expandable automatically.
-function Notification(source, title, banner, bannerBody) {
-    this._init(source, title, banner, bannerBody);
+// If @params contains a 'body' parameter, that text will be displayed
+// in the body area (as with addBody()). Alternatively, if it includes
+// a 'bannerBody' parameter with the value %true, then @banner will
+// also be used as the body of the notification when the banner is
+// expanded. In this case, if @banner is too long to fit in the
+// single-line mode, the notification will be made expandable
+// automatically.
+function Notification(source, title, banner, params) {
+    this._init(source, title, banner, params);
 }
 
 Notification.prototype = {
-    _init: function(source, title, banner, bannerBody) {
+    _init: function(source, title, banner, params) {
         this.source = source;
-        this._bannerBody = bannerBody;
         this.urgent = false;
+        this._bannerBody = false;
 
         this._hasFocus = false;
         this._lockTrayOnFocusGrab = false;
@@ -123,7 +127,7 @@ Notification.prototype = {
         this._bannerLabel = new St.Label();
         this._bannerBox.add_actor(this._bannerLabel);
 
-        this.update(title, banner, true);
+        this.update(title, banner, params);
 
         Main.overview.connect('showing', Lang.bind(this,
             function() {
@@ -138,25 +142,31 @@ Notification.prototype = {
     // update:
     // @title: the new title
     // @banner: the new banner
-    // @clear: whether or not to clear out body and action actors
+    // @params: as in the Notification constructor
     //
     // Updates the notification by regenerating its icon and updating
-    // the title/banner. If @clear is %true, it will also remove any
-    // additional actors/action buttons previously added.
-    update: function(title, banner, clear) {
+    // the title/banner. If @params.clear is %true, it will also
+    // remove any additional actors/action buttons previously added.
+    update: function(title, banner, params) {
+        params = Params.parse(params, { bannerBody: this._bannerBody,
+                                        body: null,
+                                        clear: false });
+
         if (this._icon)
             this._icon.destroy();
-        if (this._scrollArea && (this._bannerBody || clear)) {
+        if (this._scrollArea && (this._bannerBody || params.clear)) {
             this._scrollArea.destroy();
             this._scrollArea = null;
             this._contentArea = null;
         }
-        if (this._actionArea && clear) {
+        if (this._actionArea && params.clear) {
             this._actionArea.destroy();
             this._actionArea = null;
             this._buttonBox = null;
         }
 
+        this._bannerBody = params.bannerBody;
+
         this._icon = this.source.createIcon(ICON_SIZE);
         this.actor.add(this._icon, { row: 0,
                                      col: 0,
@@ -179,6 +189,8 @@ Notification.prototype = {
         // Add the bannerBody now if we know for sure we'll need it
         if (this._bannerBodyText && this._bannerBodyText.indexOf('\n') > -1)
             this._addBannerBody();
+        else if (params.body)
+            this.addBody(params.body);
     },
 
     // addActor:
diff --git a/js/ui/notificationDaemon.js b/js/ui/notificationDaemon.js
index 86cfab679..f4a3441db 100644
--- a/js/ui/notificationDaemon.js
+++ b/js/ui/notificationDaemon.js
@@ -207,7 +207,8 @@ NotificationDaemon.prototype = {
 
         if (notification == null) {
             id = nextNotificationId++;
-            notification = new MessageTray.Notification(source, summary, body, true);
+            notification = new MessageTray.Notification(source, summary, body,
+                                                        { bannerBody: true });
             this._currentNotifications[id] = notification;
             notification.connect('dismissed', Lang.bind(this,
                 function(n) {
@@ -219,9 +220,7 @@ NotificationDaemon.prototype = {
                 }));
             notification.connect('action-invoked', Lang.bind(this, this._actionInvoked, source, id));
         } else {
-            // passing in true as the last parameter will clear out extra actors,
-            // such as actions
-            notification.update(summary, body, true);
+            notification.update(summary, body, { clear: true });
         }
 
         if (actions.length) {
diff --git a/js/ui/windowAttentionHandler.js b/js/ui/windowAttentionHandler.js
index f020ce50e..79a86dbb2 100644
--- a/js/ui/windowAttentionHandler.js
+++ b/js/ui/windowAttentionHandler.js
@@ -70,11 +70,11 @@ WindowAttentionHandler.prototype = {
             source.connect('destroy', Lang.bind(this, function() { delete this._sources[appId]; }));
         }
 
-        let notification = new MessageTray.Notification(source, this._getTitle(app, window), this._getBanner(app, window), true);
+        let notification = new MessageTray.Notification(source, this._getTitle(app, window), this._getBanner(app, window), { bannerBody: true });
         source.notify(notification);
 
         window.connect('notify::title', Lang.bind(this, function(win) {
-                                                            notification.update(this._getTitle(app, win), this._getBanner(app, win), false);
+                                                            notification.update(this._getTitle(app, win), this._getBanner(app, win));
                                                         }));
         window.connect('notify::demands-attention', Lang.bind(this, function() { source.destroy(); }));
         window.connect('focus', Lang.bind(this, function() { source.destroy(); }));