diff --git a/django/views/generic/simple.py b/django/views/generic/simple.py
index 69a494931e..9d7efdc6c4 100644
--- a/django/views/generic/simple.py
+++ b/django/views/generic/simple.py
@@ -2,11 +2,12 @@ from django.shortcuts import render_to_response
 from django.template import loader, RequestContext
 from django.http import HttpResponse, HttpResponsePermanentRedirect, HttpResponseGone
 
-def direct_to_template(request, template, extra_context={}, mimetype=None, **kwargs):
+def direct_to_template(request, template, extra_context=None, mimetype=None, **kwargs):
     """
     Render a given template with any extra URL parameters in the context as
     ``{{ params }}``.
     """
+    if extra_context is None: extra_context = {}
     dictionary = {'params': kwargs}
     for key, value in extra_context.items():
         if callable(value):