diff --git a/apis/openstack-cinder/src/main/java/org/jclouds/openstack/cinder/v1/domain/VolumeType.java b/apis/openstack-cinder/src/main/java/org/jclouds/openstack/cinder/v1/domain/VolumeType.java
index 596b984ea6..6990381bd2 100644
--- a/apis/openstack-cinder/src/main/java/org/jclouds/openstack/cinder/v1/domain/VolumeType.java
+++ b/apis/openstack-cinder/src/main/java/org/jclouds/openstack/cinder/v1/domain/VolumeType.java
@@ -16,20 +16,18 @@
  */
 package org.jclouds.openstack.cinder.v1.domain;
 
-import static com.google.common.base.Preconditions.checkNotNull;
-
-import java.beans.ConstructorProperties;
-import java.util.Date;
-import java.util.Map;
-
-import javax.inject.Named;
-
-import org.jclouds.javax.annotation.Nullable;
-
 import com.google.common.base.Objects;
 import com.google.common.base.Objects.ToStringHelper;
 import com.google.common.base.Optional;
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableMap;
+import org.jclouds.javax.annotation.Nullable;
+
+import javax.inject.Named;
+import java.beans.ConstructorProperties;
+import java.util.Date;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import static com.google.common.base.Preconditions.checkNotNull;
 
 /**
  * An Openstack Cinder Volume Type.
@@ -89,7 +87,10 @@ public class VolumeType {
        * @see VolumeType#getExtraSpecs()
        */
       public T extraSpecs(Map<String, String> extraSpecs) {
-         this.extraSpecs = ImmutableMap.copyOf(checkNotNull(extraSpecs, "extraSpecs"));     
+         if (extraSpecs != null)
+         {
+            this.extraSpecs = ImmutableMap.copyOf(extraSpecs);
+         }
          return self();
       }
 
@@ -126,12 +127,15 @@ public class VolumeType {
    @ConstructorProperties({
       "id", "name", "created_at", "updated_at", "extra_specs"
    })
-   protected VolumeType(String id, String name, @Nullable Date created, @Nullable Date updated, Map<String, String> extraSpecs) {
+   protected VolumeType(String id, String name, @Nullable Date created, @Nullable Date updated, @Nullable Map<String, String> extraSpecs) {
       this.id = checkNotNull(id, "id");
       this.name = checkNotNull(name, "name");
       this.created = Optional.fromNullable(created);
       this.updated = Optional.fromNullable(updated);
-      this.extraSpecs = ImmutableMap.copyOf(checkNotNull(extraSpecs, "extraSpecs"));     
+      if (extraSpecs == null)
+         this.extraSpecs = ImmutableMap.of();
+      else
+         this.extraSpecs = ImmutableMap.copyOf(extraSpecs);
    }
 
    public String getId() {
diff --git a/apis/openstack-cinder/src/test/java/org/jclouds/openstack/cinder/v1/features/VolumeTypeApiExpectTest.java b/apis/openstack-cinder/src/test/java/org/jclouds/openstack/cinder/v1/features/VolumeTypeApiExpectTest.java
index 2166ef3bc8..28b1e59a62 100644
--- a/apis/openstack-cinder/src/test/java/org/jclouds/openstack/cinder/v1/features/VolumeTypeApiExpectTest.java
+++ b/apis/openstack-cinder/src/test/java/org/jclouds/openstack/cinder/v1/features/VolumeTypeApiExpectTest.java
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ public class VolumeTypeApiExpectTest extends BaseCinderApiExpectTest {
       ).getVolumeTypeApi("RegionOne");
 
       Set<? extends VolumeType> types = api.list().toSet();
-      assertEquals(types, ImmutableSet.of(testVolumeType()));
+      assertEquals(types, testVolumeTypes());
    }
 
    public void testGetVolumeType() {
@@ -72,4 +72,19 @@ public class VolumeTypeApiExpectTest extends BaseCinderApiExpectTest {
             .extraSpecs(ImmutableMap.of("test", "value1", "test1", "wibble"))
             .build();
    }
+   public Set<VolumeType> testVolumeTypes() {
+      VolumeType firstVolumeType = testVolumeType();
+      VolumeType secondVolumeTypeWithEmptyExtraSpecs = VolumeType.builder()
+              .id("2")
+              .name("jclouds-test-2")
+              .created(dateService.iso8601SecondsDateParse("2012-05-10 12:33:06"))
+              .build();
+      VolumeType thirdVolumeTypeWithNullableExtraSpecs = VolumeType.builder()
+              .id("3")
+              .name("jclouds-test-3")
+              .created(dateService.iso8601SecondsDateParse("2012-05-10 12:33:06"))
+              .extraSpecs(null)
+              .build();
+      return ImmutableSet.of(firstVolumeType, secondVolumeTypeWithEmptyExtraSpecs, thirdVolumeTypeWithNullableExtraSpecs);
+   }
 }
diff --git a/apis/openstack-cinder/src/test/resources/volume_type_list_simple.json b/apis/openstack-cinder/src/test/resources/volume_type_list_simple.json
index 02eb792182..ce7408c769 100644
--- a/apis/openstack-cinder/src/test/resources/volume_type_list_simple.json
+++ b/apis/openstack-cinder/src/test/resources/volume_type_list_simple.json
@@ -11,6 +11,24 @@
             },
             "deleted_at": null,
             "id": 1
+        },
+        {
+            "name": "jclouds-test-2",
+            "deleted": false,
+            "created_at": "2012-05-10 12:33:06",
+            "updated_at": null,
+            "extra_specs": {},
+            "deleted_at": null,
+            "id": 2
+        },
+        {
+            "name": "jclouds-test-3",
+            "deleted": false,
+            "created_at": "2012-05-10 12:33:06",
+            "updated_at": null,
+            "extra_specs": null,
+            "deleted_at": null,
+            "id": 3
         }
     ]
 }