Site template in sharepoint 2010 v/s site templates in sharepoint 2007.

In sharepoint 2010 site templates are stored in .wsp format instead of .stp format which was used in previous versions of sharepont (like sharepoint 2007). But i am wondering like how do i use those templates in 2010. Some say that create a 2007 site using the stp -> upgrade it to 2010 then save it as template in 2010. Though a good idea, its a boring job to convert it all the way round.