diff --git a/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/digest.ts b/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/digest.ts
index dd37340a9d..7159df5bb1 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/digest.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/digest.ts
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ export function sha1(str: string): string {
     hex += (b >>> 4 & 0x0f).toString(16) + (b & 0x0f).toString(16);
   }
 
-  return hex;
+  return hex.toLowerCase();
 }
 
 function utf8Encode(str: string): string {
diff --git a/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/i18n_ast.ts b/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/i18n_ast.ts
index 1a2806d96e..7ed07b6b87 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/i18n_ast.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/i18n_ast.ts
@@ -9,8 +9,17 @@
 import {ParseSourceSpan} from '../parse_util';
 
 export class Message {
+  /**
+   * @param nodes message AST
+   * @param placeholders maps placeholder names to static content
+   * @param placeholderToMsgIds maps placeholder names to translatable message IDs (used for ICU
+   *                            messages)
+   * @param meaning
+   * @param description
+   */
   constructor(
-      public nodes: Node[], public placeholders: {[name: string]: string}, public meaning: string,
+      public nodes: Node[], public placeholders: {[name: string]: string},
+      public placeholderToMsgIds: {[name: string]: string}, public meaning: string,
       public description: string) {}
 }
 
diff --git a/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/i18n_parser.ts b/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/i18n_parser.ts
index 7d58dac71b..55b0412bb6 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/i18n_parser.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/i18n_parser.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import * as html from '../ml_parser/ast';
 import {getHtmlTagDefinition} from '../ml_parser/html_tags';
 import {InterpolationConfig} from '../ml_parser/interpolation_config';
 import {ParseSourceSpan} from '../parse_util';
+import {digestMessage} from './digest';
 
 import * as i18n from './i18n_ast';
 import {PlaceholderRegistry} from './serializers/placeholder';
@@ -19,7 +20,7 @@ import {PlaceholderRegistry} from './serializers/placeholder';
 const _expParser = new ExpressionParser(new ExpressionLexer());
 
 /**
- * Returns a function converting html Messages to i18n Messages given an interpolationConfig
+ * Returns a function converting html nodes to an i18n Message given an interpolationConfig
  */
 export function createI18nMessageFactory(interpolationConfig: InterpolationConfig): (
     nodes: html.Node[], meaning: string, description: string) => i18n.Message {
@@ -34,6 +35,7 @@ class _I18nVisitor implements html.Visitor {
   private _icuDepth: number;
   private _placeholderRegistry: PlaceholderRegistry;
   private _placeholderToContent: {[name: string]: string};
+  private _placeholderToIds: {[name: string]: string};
 
   constructor(
       private _expressionParser: ExpressionParser,
@@ -44,10 +46,12 @@ class _I18nVisitor implements html.Visitor {
     this._icuDepth = 0;
     this._placeholderRegistry = new PlaceholderRegistry();
     this._placeholderToContent = {};
+    this._placeholderToIds = {};
 
     const i18nodes: i18n.Node[] = html.visitAll(this, nodes, {});
 
-    return new i18n.Message(i18nodes, this._placeholderToContent, meaning, description);
+    return new i18n.Message(
+        i18nodes, this._placeholderToContent, this._placeholderToIds, meaning, description);
   }
 
   visitElement(el: html.Element, context: any): i18n.Node {
@@ -99,9 +103,14 @@ class _I18nVisitor implements html.Visitor {
       return i18nIcu;
     }
 
-    // else returns a placeholder
+    // Else returns a placeholder
+    // ICU placeholders should not be replaced with their original content but with the their
+    // translations. We need to create a new visitor (they are not re-entrant) to compute the
+    // message id.
+    // TODO(vicb): add a html.Node -> i18n.Message cache to avoid having to re-create the msg
     const phName = this._placeholderRegistry.getPlaceholderName('ICU', icu.sourceSpan.toString());
-    this._placeholderToContent[phName] = icu.sourceSpan.toString();
+    const visitor = new _I18nVisitor(this._expressionParser, this._interpolationConfig);
+    this._placeholderToIds[phName] = digestMessage(visitor.toI18nMessage([icu], '', ''));
     return new i18n.IcuPlaceholder(i18nIcu, phName, icu.sourceSpan);
   }
 
diff --git a/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/message_bundle.ts b/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/message_bundle.ts
index e3b7dbb0d1..a3918e8100 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/message_bundle.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/message_bundle.ts
@@ -45,5 +45,7 @@ export class MessageBundle {
         (message) => { this._messageMap[digestMessage(message)] = message; });
   }
 
+  getMessageMap(): {[id: string]: Message} { return this._messageMap; }
+
   write(serializer: Serializer): string { return serializer.write(this._messageMap); }
 }
diff --git a/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/serializers/serializer.ts b/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/serializers/serializer.ts
index ad8565c204..3c5f94d042 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/serializers/serializer.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/serializers/serializer.ts
@@ -8,10 +8,34 @@
 
 import * as html from '../../ml_parser/ast';
 import * as i18n from '../i18n_ast';
+import {MessageBundle} from '../message_bundle';
 
 export interface Serializer {
   write(messageMap: {[id: string]: i18n.Message}): string;
 
-  load(content: string, url: string, placeholders: {[id: string]: {[name: string]: string}}):
-      {[id: string]: html.Node[]};
+  load(content: string, url: string, messageBundle: MessageBundle): {[id: string]: html.Node[]};
+}
+
+// Generate a map of placeholder to content indexed by message ids
+export function extractPlaceholders(messageBundle: MessageBundle) {
+  const messageMap = messageBundle.getMessageMap();
+  let placeholders: {[id: string]: {[name: string]: string}} = {};
+
+  Object.keys(messageMap).forEach(msgId => {
+    placeholders[msgId] = messageMap[msgId].placeholders;
+  });
+
+  return placeholders;
+}
+
+// Generate a map of placeholder to message ids indexed by message ids
+export function extractPlaceholderToIds(messageBundle: MessageBundle) {
+  const messageMap = messageBundle.getMessageMap();
+  let placeholderToIds: {[id: string]: {[name: string]: string}} = {};
+
+  Object.keys(messageMap).forEach(msgId => {
+    placeholderToIds[msgId] = messageMap[msgId].placeholderToMsgIds;
+  });
+
+  return placeholderToIds;
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/serializers/xmb.ts b/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/serializers/xmb.ts
index fc87064e05..a0b26e0c87 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/serializers/xmb.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/serializers/xmb.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 import {ListWrapper} from '../../facade/collection';
 import * as html from '../../ml_parser/ast';
 import * as i18n from '../i18n_ast';
+import {MessageBundle} from '../message_bundle';
 
 import {Serializer} from './serializer';
 import * as xml from './xml_helper';
@@ -70,8 +71,7 @@ export class Xmb implements Serializer {
     ]);
   }
 
-  load(content: string, url: string, placeholders: {[id: string]: {[name: string]: string}}):
-      {[id: string]: html.Node[]} {
+  load(content: string, url: string, messageBundle: MessageBundle): {[id: string]: html.Node[]} {
     throw new Error('Unsupported');
   }
 }
diff --git a/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/serializers/xtb.ts b/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/serializers/xtb.ts
index 485b00d2b6..3c12f95c04 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/serializers/xtb.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/serializers/xtb.ts
@@ -12,9 +12,10 @@ import {InterpolationConfig} from '../../ml_parser/interpolation_config';
 import {XmlParser} from '../../ml_parser/xml_parser';
 import {ParseError} from '../../parse_util';
 import * as i18n from '../i18n_ast';
+import {MessageBundle} from '../message_bundle';
 import {I18nError} from '../parse_util';
 
-import {Serializer} from './serializer';
+import {Serializer, extractPlaceholderToIds, extractPlaceholders} from './serializer';
 
 const _TRANSLATIONS_TAG = 'translationbundle';
 const _TRANSLATION_TAG = 'translation';
@@ -25,8 +26,7 @@ export class Xtb implements Serializer {
 
   write(messageMap: {[id: string]: i18n.Message}): string { throw new Error('Unsupported'); }
 
-  load(content: string, url: string, placeholders: {[id: string]: {[name: string]: string}}):
-      {[id: string]: ml.Node[]} {
+  load(content: string, url: string, messageBundle: MessageBundle): {[id: string]: ml.Node[]} {
     // Parse the xtb file into xml nodes
     const result = new XmlParser().parse(content, url);
 
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ export class Xtb implements Serializer {
     }
 
     // Replace the placeholders, messages are now string
-    const {messages, errors} = new _Serializer().parse(result.rootNodes, placeholders);
+    const {messages, errors} = new _Serializer().parse(result.rootNodes, messageBundle);
 
     if (errors.length) {
       throw new Error(`xtb parse errors:\n${errors.join('\n')}`);
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ export class Xtb implements Serializer {
     // Convert the string messages to html ast
     // TODO(vicb): map error message back to the original message in xtb
     let messageMap: {[id: string]: ml.Node[]} = {};
-    let parseErrors: ParseError[] = [];
+    const parseErrors: ParseError[] = [];
 
     Object.keys(messages).forEach((id) => {
       const res = this._htmlParser.parse(messages[id], url, true, this._interpolationConfig);
@@ -61,24 +61,58 @@ export class Xtb implements Serializer {
 }
 
 class _Serializer implements ml.Visitor {
-  private _messages: {[id: string]: string};
+  private _messageNodes: [string, ml.Node[]][];
+  private _translatedMessages: {[id: string]: string};
   private _bundleDepth: number;
   private _translationDepth: number;
   private _errors: I18nError[];
-  private _placeholders: {[id: string]: {[name: string]: string}};
-  private _currentPlaceholders: {[name: string]: string};
+  private _placeholders: {[name: string]: string};
+  private _placeholderToIds: {[name: string]: string};
 
-  parse(nodes: ml.Node[], _placeholders: {[id: string]: {[name: string]: string}}):
+  parse(nodes: ml.Node[], messageBundle: MessageBundle):
       {messages: {[k: string]: string}, errors: I18nError[]} {
-    this._messages = {};
+    this._messageNodes = [];
+    this._translatedMessages = {};
     this._bundleDepth = 0;
     this._translationDepth = 0;
     this._errors = [];
-    this._placeholders = _placeholders;
 
+    // Find all messages
     ml.visitAll(this, nodes, null);
 
-    return {messages: this._messages, errors: this._errors};
+    const messageMap = messageBundle.getMessageMap();
+    const placeholders = extractPlaceholders(messageBundle);
+    const placeholderToIds = extractPlaceholderToIds(messageBundle);
+
+    this._messageNodes
+        .filter(message => {
+          // Remove any messages that is not present in the source message bundle.
+          return messageMap.hasOwnProperty(message[0]);
+        })
+        .sort((a, b) => {
+          // Because there could be no ICU placeholders inside an ICU message,
+          // we do not need to take into account the `placeholderToMsgIds` of the referenced
+          // messages, those would always be empty
+          // TODO(vicb): overkill - create 2 buckets and [...woDeps, ...wDeps].process()
+          if (Object.keys(messageMap[a[0]].placeholderToMsgIds).length == 0) {
+            return -1;
+          }
+
+          if (Object.keys(messageMap[b[0]].placeholderToMsgIds).length == 0) {
+            return 1;
+          }
+
+          return 0;
+        })
+        .forEach(message => {
+          const id = message[0];
+          this._placeholders = placeholders[id] || {};
+          this._placeholderToIds = placeholderToIds[id] || {};
+          // TODO(vicb): make sure there is no `_TRANSLATIONS_TAG` nor `_TRANSLATION_TAG`
+          this._translatedMessages[id] = ml.visitAll(this, message[1]).join('');
+        });
+
+    return {messages: this._translatedMessages, errors: this._errors};
   }
 
   visitElement(element: ml.Element, context: any): any {
@@ -101,8 +135,11 @@ class _Serializer implements ml.Visitor {
         if (!idAttr) {
           this._addError(element, `<${_TRANSLATION_TAG}> misses the "id" attribute`);
         } else {
-          this._currentPlaceholders = this._placeholders[idAttr.value] || {};
-          this._messages[idAttr.value] = ml.visitAll(this, element.children).join('');
+          // ICU placeholders are reference to other messages.
+          // The referenced message might not have been decoded yet.
+          // We need to have all messages available to make sure deps are decoded first.
+          // TODO(vicb): report an error on duplicate id
+          this._messageNodes.push([idAttr.value, element.children]);
         }
         this._translationDepth--;
         break;
@@ -112,11 +149,18 @@ class _Serializer implements ml.Visitor {
         if (!nameAttr) {
           this._addError(element, `<${_PLACEHOLDER_TAG}> misses the "name" attribute`);
         } else {
-          if (this._currentPlaceholders.hasOwnProperty(nameAttr.value)) {
-            return this._currentPlaceholders[nameAttr.value];
+          const name = nameAttr.value;
+          if (this._placeholders.hasOwnProperty(name)) {
+            return this._placeholders[name];
           }
+          if (this._placeholderToIds.hasOwnProperty(name) &&
+              this._translatedMessages.hasOwnProperty(this._placeholderToIds[name])) {
+            return this._translatedMessages[this._placeholderToIds[name]];
+          }
+          // TODO(vicb): better error message for when
+          // !this._translatedMessages.hasOwnProperty(this._placeholderToIds[name])
           this._addError(
-              element, `The placeholder "${nameAttr.value}" does not exists in the source message`);
+              element, `The placeholder "${name}" does not exists in the source message`);
         }
         break;
 
diff --git a/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/translation_bundle.ts b/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/translation_bundle.ts
index c8072abb10..28cbe0587f 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/translation_bundle.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/compiler/src/i18n/translation_bundle.ts
@@ -7,8 +7,9 @@
  */
 
 import * as html from '../ml_parser/ast';
-import {Serializer} from './serializers/serializer';
 
+import {MessageBundle} from './message_bundle';
+import {Serializer} from './serializers/serializer';
 
 /**
  * A container for translated messages
@@ -16,10 +17,9 @@ import {Serializer} from './serializers/serializer';
 export class TranslationBundle {
   constructor(private _messageMap: {[id: string]: html.Node[]} = {}) {}
 
-  static load(
-      content: string, url: string, placeholders: {[id: string]: {[name: string]: string}},
-      serializer: Serializer): TranslationBundle {
-    return new TranslationBundle(serializer.load(content, url, placeholders));
+  static load(content: string, url: string, messageBundle: MessageBundle, serializer: Serializer):
+      TranslationBundle {
+    return new TranslationBundle(serializer.load(content, url, messageBundle));
   }
 
   get(id: string): html.Node[] { return this._messageMap[id]; }
diff --git a/modules/@angular/compiler/test/i18n/i18n_parser_spec.ts b/modules/@angular/compiler/test/i18n/i18n_parser_spec.ts
index fbb3e941a9..7a0063ed35 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/compiler/test/i18n/i18n_parser_spec.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/compiler/test/i18n/i18n_parser_spec.ts
@@ -272,12 +272,17 @@ export function main() {
           [['{count, plural, =1 {[1]}}'], '', ''],
         ]);
 
-        expect(_humanizePlaceholders(html)).toEqual([
-          'ICU={count, plural, =0 {0}}, ICU_1={count, plural, =1 {1}}',
+        // ICU message placeholders are reference to translations.
+        // As such they have no static content but refs to message ids.
+        expect(_humanizePlaceholders(html)).toEqual(['', '', '', '']);
+
+        expect(_humanizePlaceholdersToIds(html)).toEqual([
+          'ICU=f0f76923009914f1b05f41042a5c7231b9496504, ICU_1=73693d1f78d0fc882f0bcbce4cb31a0aa1995cfe',
           '',
           '',
           '',
         ]);
+
       });
     });
   });
@@ -303,6 +308,17 @@ function _humanizePlaceholders(
   // clang-format on
 }
 
+function _humanizePlaceholdersToIds(
+    html: string, implicitTags: string[] = [],
+    implicitAttrs: {[k: string]: string[]} = {}): string[] {
+  // clang-format off
+  // https://github.com/angular/clang-format/issues/35
+  return _extractMessages(html, implicitTags, implicitAttrs).map(
+    msg => Object.keys(msg.placeholderToMsgIds).map(k => `${k}=${msg.placeholderToMsgIds[k]}`).join(', '));
+  // clang-format on
+}
+
+
 function _extractMessages(
     html: string, implicitTags: string[] = [],
     implicitAttrs: {[k: string]: string[]} = {}): Message[] {
diff --git a/modules/@angular/compiler/test/i18n/serializers/xmb_spec.ts b/modules/@angular/compiler/test/i18n/serializers/xmb_spec.ts
index e6cebae272..0c49bbf951 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/compiler/test/i18n/serializers/xmb_spec.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/compiler/test/i18n/serializers/xmb_spec.ts
@@ -56,8 +56,8 @@ export function main(): void {
     it('should throw when trying to load an xmb file', () => {
       expect(() => {
         const serializer = new Xmb();
-        serializer.load(XMB, 'url', {});
-      }).toThrow();
+        serializer.load(XMB, 'url', null);
+      }).toThrowError(/Unsupported/);
     });
   });
 }
diff --git a/modules/@angular/compiler/test/i18n/serializers/xtb_spec.ts b/modules/@angular/compiler/test/i18n/serializers/xtb_spec.ts
index 8828e7e4fe..f8f8e97a84 100644
--- a/modules/@angular/compiler/test/i18n/serializers/xtb_spec.ts
+++ b/modules/@angular/compiler/test/i18n/serializers/xtb_spec.ts
@@ -6,10 +6,11 @@
  * found in the LICENSE file at https://angular.io/license
  */
 
-import {Xtb} from '@angular/compiler/src/i18n/serializers/xtb';
 import {escapeRegExp} from '@angular/core/src/facade/lang';
 import {beforeEach, ddescribe, describe, expect, iit, inject, it, xdescribe, xit} from '@angular/core/testing/testing_internal';
 
+import {MessageBundle} from '../../../src/i18n/message_bundle';
+import {Xtb} from '../../../src/i18n/serializers/xtb';
 import {HtmlParser} from '../../../src/ml_parser/html_parser';
 import {DEFAULT_INTERPOLATION_CONFIG} from '../../../src/ml_parser/interpolation_config';
 import {serializeNodes} from '../../ml_parser/ast_serializer_spec';
@@ -17,21 +18,28 @@ import {serializeNodes} from '../../ml_parser/ast_serializer_spec';
 export function main(): void {
   describe('XTB serializer', () => {
     let serializer: Xtb;
+    let htmlParser: HtmlParser;
 
-    function loadAsText(content: string, placeholders: {[id: string]: {[name: string]: string}}):
-        {[id: string]: string} {
-      const asAst = serializer.load(content, 'url', placeholders);
+    function loadAsText(template: string, xtb: string): {[id: string]: string} {
+      let messageBundle = new MessageBundle(htmlParser, [], {});
+      messageBundle.updateFromTemplate(template, 'url', DEFAULT_INTERPOLATION_CONFIG);
+
+      const asAst = serializer.load(xtb, 'url', messageBundle);
       let asText: {[id: string]: string} = {};
       Object.keys(asAst).forEach(id => { asText[id] = serializeNodes(asAst[id]).join(''); });
 
       return asText;
     }
 
-    beforeEach(() => { serializer = new Xtb(new HtmlParser(), DEFAULT_INTERPOLATION_CONFIG); });
-
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      htmlParser = new HtmlParser();
+      serializer = new Xtb(htmlParser, DEFAULT_INTERPOLATION_CONFIG);
+    });
 
     describe('load', () => {
       it('should load XTB files with a doctype', () => {
+        const HTML = `<div i18n>bar</div>`;
+
         const XTB = `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 <!DOCTYPE translationbundle [<!ELEMENT translationbundle (translation)*>
 <!ATTLIST translationbundle lang CDATA #REQUIRED>
@@ -43,62 +51,75 @@ export function main(): void {
 <!ATTLIST ph name CDATA #REQUIRED>
 ]>
 <translationbundle>
-  <translation id="foo">bar</translation>
+  <translation id="28a86c8a00ae573b2bac698d6609316dc7b4a226">rab</translation>
 </translationbundle>`;
 
-        expect(loadAsText(XTB, {})).toEqual({foo: 'bar'});
+        expect(loadAsText(HTML, XTB)).toEqual({'28a86c8a00ae573b2bac698d6609316dc7b4a226': 'rab'});
       });
 
       it('should load XTB files without placeholders', () => {
+        const HTML = `<div i18n>bar</div>`;
+
         const XTB = `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 <translationbundle>
-  <translation id="foo">bar</translation>
+  <translation id="28a86c8a00ae573b2bac698d6609316dc7b4a226">rab</translation>
 </translationbundle>`;
 
-        expect(loadAsText(XTB, {})).toEqual({foo: 'bar'});
+        expect(loadAsText(HTML, XTB)).toEqual({'28a86c8a00ae573b2bac698d6609316dc7b4a226': 'rab'});
       });
 
       it('should load XTB files with placeholders', () => {
+        const HTML = `<div i18n><p>bar</p></div>`;
+
         const XTB = `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 <translationbundle>
-  <translation id="foo">bar<ph name="PLACEHOLDER"/><ph name="PLACEHOLDER"/></translation>
+  <translation id="7de4d8ff1e42b7b31da6204074818236a9a5317f"><ph name="START_PARAGRAPH"/>rab<ph name="CLOSE_PARAGRAPH"/></translation>
 </translationbundle>`;
 
-        expect(loadAsText(XTB, {foo: {PLACEHOLDER: '!'}})).toEqual({foo: 'bar!!'});
+        expect(loadAsText(HTML, XTB)).toEqual({
+          '7de4d8ff1e42b7b31da6204074818236a9a5317f': '<p>rab</p>'
+        });
+      });
+
+      it('should replace ICU placeholders with their translations', () => {
+        const HTML = `<div i18n>-{ count, plural, =0 {<p>bar</p>}}-</div>`;
+
+        const XTB = `<? xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
+<translationbundle>
+  <translation id="eb404e202fed4846e25e7d9ac1fcb719fe4da257">*<ph name="ICU"/>*</translation>
+  <translation id="fc92b9b781194a02ab773129c8c5a7fc0735efd7">{ count, plural, =1 {<ph name="START_PARAGRAPH"/>rab<ph name="CLOSE_PARAGRAPH"/>}}</translation>
+</translationbundle>`;
+
+        expect(loadAsText(HTML, XTB)).toEqual({
+          'eb404e202fed4846e25e7d9ac1fcb719fe4da257': `*{ count, plural, =1 {<p>rab</p>}}*`,
+          'fc92b9b781194a02ab773129c8c5a7fc0735efd7': `{ count, plural, =1 {<p>rab</p>}}`,
+        });
       });
 
       it('should load complex XTB files', () => {
+        const HTML = `
+<div i18n>foo <b>bar</b> {{ a + b }}</div>
+<div i18n>{ count, plural, =0 {<p>bar</p>}}</div>
+<div i18n="m|d">foo</div>
+<div i18n>{ count, plural, =0 {{ sex, gender, other {<p>bar</p>}} }}</div>`;
+
         const XTB = `<? xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
 <translationbundle>
-  <translation id="a">translatable element <ph name="START_BOLD_TEXT"><ex>&lt;b&gt;</ex></ph>with placeholders<ph name="CLOSE_BOLD_TEXT"><ex>&lt;/b&gt;</ex></ph> <ph name="INTERPOLATION"/></translation>
-  <translation id="b">{ count, plural, =0 {<ph name="START_PARAGRAPH"><ex>&lt;p&gt;</ex></ph>test<ph name="CLOSE_PARAGRAPH"><ex>&lt;/p&gt;</ex></ph>}}</translation>
-  <translation id="c" desc="d" meaning="m">foo</translation>
-  <translation id="d">{ count, plural, =0 {{ sex, gender, other {<ph name="START_PARAGRAPH"><ex>&lt;p&gt;</ex></ph>deeply nested<ph name="CLOSE_PARAGRAPH"><ex>&lt;/p&gt;</ex></ph>}} }}</translation>
+  <translation id="7103b4b13b616270a0044efade97d8b4f96f2ca6"><ph name="INTERPOLATION"/><ph name="START_BOLD_TEXT"/>rab<ph name="CLOSE_BOLD_TEXT"/> oof</translation>
+  <translation id="fc92b9b781194a02ab773129c8c5a7fc0735efd7">{ count, plural, =1 {<ph name="START_PARAGRAPH"/>rab<ph name="CLOSE_PARAGRAPH"/>}}</translation>
+  <translation id="db3e0a6a5a96481f60aec61d98c3eecddef5ac23">oof</translation>
+  <translation id="e3bf2d706c3da16ce05658e07f62f0519f7c561c">{ count, plural, =1 {{ sex, gender, male {<ph name="START_PARAGRAPH"/>rab<ph name="CLOSE_PARAGRAPH"/>}} }}</translation>
 </translationbundle>`;
 
-        const PLACEHOLDERS = {
-          a: {
-            START_BOLD_TEXT: '<b>',
-            CLOSE_BOLD_TEXT: '</b>',
-            INTERPOLATION: '{{ a + b }}',
-          },
-          b: {
-            START_PARAGRAPH: '<p translated=true>',
-            CLOSE_PARAGRAPH: '</p>',
-          },
-          d: {
-            START_PARAGRAPH: '<p>',
-            CLOSE_PARAGRAPH: '</p>',
-          },
-        };
-
-        expect(loadAsText(XTB, PLACEHOLDERS)).toEqual({
-          a: 'translatable element <b>with placeholders</b> {{ a + b }}',
-          b: '{ count, plural, =0 {<p translated="true">test</p>}}',
-          c: 'foo',
-          d: '{ count, plural, =0 {{ sex, gender, other {<p>deeply nested</p>}} }}',
+        expect(loadAsText(HTML, XTB)).toEqual({
+          '7103b4b13b616270a0044efade97d8b4f96f2ca6': `{{ a + b }}<b>rab</b> oof`,
+          'fc92b9b781194a02ab773129c8c5a7fc0735efd7': `{ count, plural, =1 {<p>rab</p>}}`,
+          'db3e0a6a5a96481f60aec61d98c3eecddef5ac23': `oof`,
+          'e3bf2d706c3da16ce05658e07f62f0519f7c561c':
+              `{ count, plural, =1 {{ sex, gender, male {<p>rab</p>}} }}`,
         });
       });
+
     });
 
     describe('errors', () => {
@@ -107,61 +128,54 @@ export function main(): void {
             '<translationbundle><translationbundle></translationbundle></translationbundle>';
 
         expect(() => {
-          serializer.load(XTB, 'url', {});
+          loadAsText('', XTB);
         }).toThrowError(/<translationbundle> elements can not be nested/);
       });
 
-      it('should throw on nested <translation>', () => {
-        const XTB = `<translationbundle>
-  <translation id="outer">
-    <translation id="inner">
-    </translation>
-  </translation>
-</translationbundle>`;
-
-        expect(() => {
-          serializer.load(XTB, 'url', {});
-        }).toThrowError(/<translation> elements can not be nested/);
-      });
-
       it('should throw when a <translation> has no id attribute', () => {
         const XTB = `<translationbundle>
   <translation></translation>
 </translationbundle>`;
 
         expect(() => {
-          serializer.load(XTB, 'url', {});
+          loadAsText('', XTB);
         }).toThrowError(/<translation> misses the "id" attribute/);
       });
 
       it('should throw when a placeholder has no name attribute', () => {
+        const HTML = '<div i18n>give me a message</div>';
+
         const XTB = `<translationbundle>
-  <translation id="fail"><ph /></translation>
+  <translation id="8de97c6a35252d9409dcaca0b8171c952740b28c"><ph /></translation>
 </translationbundle>`;
 
-        expect(() => {
-          serializer.load(XTB, 'url', {});
-        }).toThrowError(/<ph> misses the "name" attribute/);
+        expect(() => { loadAsText(HTML, XTB); }).toThrowError(/<ph> misses the "name" attribute/);
       });
 
       it('should throw when a placeholder is not present in the source message', () => {
-        const XTB = `<translationbundle>
-  <translation id="fail"><ph name="UNKNOWN"/></translation>
+        const HTML = `<div i18n>bar</div>`;
+
+        const XTB = `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<translationbundle>
+  <translation id="28a86c8a00ae573b2bac698d6609316dc7b4a226"><ph name="UNKNOWN"/></translation>
 </translationbundle>`;
 
         expect(() => {
-          serializer.load(XTB, 'url', {});
+          loadAsText(HTML, XTB);
         }).toThrowError(/The placeholder "UNKNOWN" does not exists in the source message/);
       });
     });
 
     it('should throw when the translation results in invalid html', () => {
-      const XTB = `<translationbundle>
-  <translation id="fail">foo<ph name="CLOSE_P"/>bar</translation>
+      const HTML = `<div i18n><p>bar</p></div>`;
+
+      const XTB = `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<translationbundle>
+  <translation id="7de4d8ff1e42b7b31da6204074818236a9a5317f">rab<ph name="CLOSE_PARAGRAPH"/></translation>
 </translationbundle>`;
 
       expect(() => {
-        serializer.load(XTB, 'url', {fail: {CLOSE_P: '</p>'}});
+        loadAsText(HTML, XTB);
       }).toThrowError(/xtb parse errors:\nUnexpected closing tag "p"/);
 
     });
@@ -170,11 +184,11 @@ export function main(): void {
       const XTB = `<what></what>`;
 
       expect(() => {
-        serializer.load(XTB, 'url', {});
+        loadAsText('', XTB);
       }).toThrowError(new RegExp(escapeRegExp(`Unexpected tag ("[ERROR ->]<what></what>")`)));
     });
 
-    it('should throw when trying to save an xmb file',
-       () => { expect(() => { serializer.write({}); }).toThrow(); });
+    it('should throw when trying to save an xtb file',
+       () => { expect(() => { serializer.write({}); }).toThrowError(/Unsupported/); });
   });
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file