diff --git a/src/manipulation.js b/src/manipulation.js
index b8835671..2a1e9237 100644
--- a/src/manipulation.js
+++ b/src/manipulation.js
@@ -189,15 +189,21 @@ jQuery.fn.extend({
 
 		// See if we can take a shortcut and just use innerHTML
 		} else if ( typeof value === "string" && !/<script/i.test( value ) &&
-			this[0] && !jQuery.isXMLDoc( this[0] ) &&
+			(!jQuery.support.leadingWhitespace || !rleadingWhitespace.test( value )) &&
 			!wrapMap[ (rtagName.exec( value ) || ["", ""])[1].toLowerCase() ] ) {
 
-			for ( var i = 0, l = this.length; i < l; i++ ) {
-				// Remove element nodes and prevent memory leaks
-				if ( this[i].nodeType === 1 ) {
-					cleanData( this[i].getElementsByTagName("*") );
-					this[i].innerHTML = value;
+			try {
+				for ( var i = 0, l = this.length; i < l; i++ ) {
+					// Remove element nodes and prevent memory leaks
+					if ( this[i].nodeType === 1 ) {
+						cleanData( this[i].getElementsByTagName("*") );
+						this[i].innerHTML = value;
+					}
 				}
+
+			// If using innerHTML throws an exception, use the fallback method
+			} catch(e) {
+				this.empty().append( value );
 			}
 
 		} else {