diff --git a/dlls/shell32/tests/.cvsignore b/dlls/shell32/tests/.cvsignore
index d5b2d55e028..f716082ab8e 100644
--- a/dlls/shell32/tests/.cvsignore
+++ b/dlls/shell32/tests/.cvsignore
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ Makefile
 generated.ok
 shelllink.ok
 shellpath.ok
+shlexec.ok
 shlfileop.ok
 shlfolder.ok
 string.ok
diff --git a/dlls/shell32/tests/Makefile.in b/dlls/shell32/tests/Makefile.in
index f8ed72570ba..7b444dd4523 100644
--- a/dlls/shell32/tests/Makefile.in
+++ b/dlls/shell32/tests/Makefile.in
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ CTESTS = \
 	generated.c \
 	shelllink.c \
 	shellpath.c \
+	shlexec.c \
 	shlfileop.c \
 	shlfolder.c \
 	string.c
diff --git a/dlls/shell32/tests/shell32_test.h b/dlls/shell32/tests/shell32_test.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..fc377896189
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dlls/shell32/tests/shell32_test.h
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+/*
+ * Unit test suite for shell32 functions
+ *
+ * Copyright 2005 Francois Gougett for CodeWeavers
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
+ */
+
+
+/* Helper function for creating .lnk files */
+typedef struct
+{
+    const char* description;
+    const char* workdir;
+    const char* path;
+    LPITEMIDLIST pidl;
+    const char* arguments;
+    int   showcmd;
+    const char* icon;
+    int   icon_id;
+    WORD  hotkey;
+} lnk_desc_t;
+
+#define create_lnk(a,b,c)     create_lnk_(__LINE__, (a), (b), (c))
+void create_lnk_(int,const WCHAR*,lnk_desc_t*,int);
diff --git a/dlls/shell32/tests/shelllink.c b/dlls/shell32/tests/shelllink.c
index 960922d154d..af0c9b760cc 100644
--- a/dlls/shell32/tests/shelllink.c
+++ b/dlls/shell32/tests/shelllink.c
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@
 #include "shlobj.h"
 #include "wine/test.h"
 
+#include "shell32_test.h"
+
 static const WCHAR lnkfile[]= { 'C',':','\\','t','e','s','t','.','l','n','k',0 };
 static const WCHAR notafile[]= { 'C',':','\\','n','o','n','e','x','i','s','t','e','n','t','\\','f','i','l','e',0 };
 
@@ -268,24 +270,10 @@ static void test_get_set(void)
  * Test saving and loading .lnk files
  */
 
-typedef struct
-{
-    const char* description;
-    const char* workdir;
-    const char* path;
-    LPITEMIDLIST pidl;
-    const char* arguments;
-    int   showcmd;
-    const char* icon;
-    int   icon_id;
-    WORD  hotkey;
-} lnk_desc_t;
-
 #define lok                   ok_(__FILE__, line)
-#define create_lnk(a,b,c)     create_lnk_(__LINE__, (a), (b), (c))
 #define check_lnk(a,b)        check_lnk_(__LINE__, (a), (b))
 
-static void create_lnk_(int line, const WCHAR* path, lnk_desc_t* desc, int save_fails)
+void create_lnk_(int line, const WCHAR* path, lnk_desc_t* desc, int save_fails)
 {
     HRESULT r;
     IShellLinkA *sl;
diff --git a/dlls/shell32/tests/shlexec.c b/dlls/shell32/tests/shlexec.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..60499cbfedd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dlls/shell32/tests/shlexec.c
@@ -0,0 +1,462 @@
+/*
+ * Unit test of the ShellExecute function.
+ *
+ * Copyright 2005 Francois Gouget for CodeWeavers
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
+ */
+
+/* TODO:
+ * - test the default verb selection
+ * - test selection of an alternate class
+ * - try running executables in more ways
+ * - try passing arguments to executables
+ * - ShellExecute("foo.shlexec") with no path should work if foo.shlexec is
+ *   in the PATH
+ * - test associations that use %l, %L or "%1" instead of %1
+ * - we may want to test ShellExecuteEx() instead of ShellExecute()
+ *   and then we could also check its return value
+ * - ShellExecuteEx() also calls SetLastError() with meaningful values which
+ *   we could check
+ */
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <assert.h>
+
+#include "wtypes.h"
+#include "winbase.h"
+#include "windef.h"
+#include "shellapi.h"
+#include "shlwapi.h"
+#include "wine/test.h"
+
+#include "shell32_test.h"
+
+
+static char argv0[MAX_PATH];
+static int myARGC;
+static char** myARGV;
+static char tmpdir[MAX_PATH];
+
+static const char* testfiles[]=
+{
+    "%s\\test file.shlexec",
+    "%s\\test file.noassoc",
+    "%s\\test file.noassoc.shlexec",
+    "%s\\test file.shlexec.noassoc",
+    "%s\\test_shortcut_shlexec.lnk",
+    NULL
+};
+
+
+static void strcat_param(char* str, const char* param)
+{
+    if (param!=NULL)
+    {
+        strcat(str, "\"");
+        strcat(str, param);
+        strcat(str, "\"");
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        strcat(str, "null");
+    }
+}
+
+static char shell_call[2048]="";
+static int shell_execute(LPCSTR operation, LPCSTR file, LPCSTR parameters, LPCSTR directory)
+{
+    strcpy(shell_call, "ShellExecute(");
+    strcat_param(shell_call, operation);
+    strcat(shell_call, ", ");
+    strcat_param(shell_call, file);
+    strcat(shell_call, ", ");
+    strcat_param(shell_call, parameters);
+    strcat(shell_call, ", ");
+    strcat_param(shell_call, directory);
+    strcat(shell_call, ")");
+    if (winetest_debug > 1)
+        trace("%s\n", shell_call);
+
+    SetLastError(0xcafebabe);
+    /* FIXME: We cannot use ShellExecuteEx() here because if there is no
+     * association it displays the 'Open With' dialog and I could not find
+     * a flag to prevent this.
+     */
+    return (int)ShellExecute(NULL, operation, file, parameters, directory,
+                             SW_SHOWNORMAL);
+}
+
+static int shell_execute_ex(DWORD mask, LPCSTR operation, LPCSTR file,
+                            LPCSTR parameters, LPCSTR directory)
+{
+    SHELLEXECUTEINFO sei;
+    BOOL success;
+    int rc;
+
+    strcpy(shell_call, "ShellExecuteEx(");
+    strcat_param(shell_call, operation);
+    strcat(shell_call, ", ");
+    strcat_param(shell_call, file);
+    strcat(shell_call, ", ");
+    strcat_param(shell_call, parameters);
+    strcat(shell_call, ", ");
+    strcat_param(shell_call, directory);
+    strcat(shell_call, ")");
+    if (winetest_debug > 1)
+        trace("%s\n", shell_call);
+
+    sei.cbSize=sizeof(sei);
+    sei.fMask=mask;
+    sei.hwnd=NULL;
+    sei.lpVerb=operation;
+    sei.lpFile=file;
+    sei.lpParameters=parameters;
+    sei.lpDirectory=directory;
+    sei.nShow=SW_SHOWNORMAL;
+    sei.hInstApp=NULL; /* Out */
+    sei.lpIDList=NULL;
+    sei.lpClass=NULL;
+    sei.hkeyClass=NULL;
+    sei.dwHotKey=0;
+    U(sei).hIcon=NULL;
+
+    SetLastError(0xcafebabe);
+    success=ShellExecuteEx(&sei);
+    rc=(int)sei.hInstApp;
+    ok((success && rc >= 32) || (!success && rc < 32),
+       "%s rc=%d and hInstApp=%d is not allowed\n", shell_call, success, rc);
+    return rc;
+}
+
+static void create_test_association(const char* extension)
+{
+    HKEY hkey, hkey_shell;
+    char class[MAX_PATH];
+    LONG rc;
+
+    sprintf(class, "shlexec%s", extension);
+    rc=RegCreateKeyEx(HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, extension, 0, NULL, 0, KEY_SET_VALUE,
+                      NULL, &hkey, NULL);
+    assert(rc==ERROR_SUCCESS);
+    rc=RegSetValueEx(hkey, NULL, 0, REG_SZ, class, strlen(class)+1);
+    assert(rc==ERROR_SUCCESS);
+    CloseHandle(hkey);
+
+    rc=RegCreateKeyEx(HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, class, 0, NULL, 0,
+                      KEY_CREATE_SUB_KEY | KEY_ENUMERATE_SUB_KEYS, NULL, &hkey, NULL);
+    assert(rc==ERROR_SUCCESS);
+    rc=RegCreateKeyEx(hkey, "shell", 0, NULL, 0,
+                      KEY_CREATE_SUB_KEY, NULL, &hkey_shell, NULL);
+    assert(rc==ERROR_SUCCESS);
+    CloseHandle(hkey);
+    CloseHandle(hkey_shell);
+}
+
+static void delete_test_association(const char* extension)
+{
+    char class[MAX_PATH];
+
+    sprintf(class, "shlexec%s", extension);
+    SHDeleteKey(HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, class);
+    SHDeleteKey(HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, extension);
+}
+
+static void create_test_verb(const char* extension, const char* verb)
+{
+    HKEY hkey_shell, hkey_verb, hkey_cmd;
+    char shell[MAX_PATH];
+    char* cmd;
+    LONG rc;
+
+    sprintf(shell, "shlexec%s\\shell", extension);
+    rc=RegOpenKeyEx(HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, shell, 0,
+                    KEY_CREATE_SUB_KEY, &hkey_shell);
+    assert(rc==ERROR_SUCCESS);
+    rc=RegCreateKeyEx(hkey_shell, verb, 0, NULL, 0, KEY_CREATE_SUB_KEY,
+                      NULL, &hkey_verb, NULL);
+    assert(rc==ERROR_SUCCESS);
+    rc=RegCreateKeyEx(hkey_verb, "command", 0, NULL, 0, KEY_SET_VALUE,
+                      NULL, &hkey_cmd, NULL);
+    assert(rc==ERROR_SUCCESS);
+
+    cmd=malloc(strlen(argv0)+13+1);
+    sprintf(cmd,"%s shlexec \"%%1\"", argv0);
+    rc=RegSetValueEx(hkey_cmd, NULL, 0, REG_SZ, cmd, strlen(cmd)+1);
+    assert(rc==ERROR_SUCCESS);
+
+    free(cmd);
+    CloseHandle(hkey_shell);
+    CloseHandle(hkey_verb);
+    CloseHandle(hkey_cmd);
+}
+
+
+typedef struct
+{
+    char* basename;
+    int rc;
+    int todo;
+} filename_tests_t;
+
+static filename_tests_t filename_tests[]=
+{
+    /* Test bad / nonexistent filenames */
+    {"%s\\nonexistent.shlexec", ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND, 1},
+    {"%s\\nonexistent.noassoc", ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND, 1},
+
+    /* Standard tests */
+    {"%s\\test file.shlexec",   0, 0},
+    {"%s\\test file.shlexec.",  0, 0},
+    {"%s/test file.shlexec",    0, 0},
+
+    /* Test filenames with no association */
+    {"%s\\test file.noassoc",   SE_ERR_NOASSOC, 0},
+
+    /* Test double extensions */
+    {"%s\\test file.noassoc.shlexec", 0, 0},
+    {"%s\\test file.shlexec.noassoc", SE_ERR_NOASSOC, 0},
+
+    /* Test shortcuts */
+    {"%s\\test_shortcut_shlexec.lnk", 0, 0},
+
+    {NULL, 0, 0}
+};
+
+static void test_filename()
+{
+    char filename[MAX_PATH];
+    const filename_tests_t* test;
+    HMODULE hdll;
+    DLLVERSIONINFO dllver;
+    HRESULT (WINAPI *pDllGetVersion)(DLLVERSIONINFO*);
+    char* c;
+    int rc;
+
+    test=filename_tests;
+    while (test->basename)
+    {
+        sprintf(filename, test->basename, tmpdir);
+        if (strchr(filename, '/'))
+        {
+            c=filename;
+            while (*c)
+            {
+                if (*c=='\\')
+                    *c='/';
+                c++;
+            }
+        }
+        rc=shell_execute(NULL, filename, NULL, NULL);
+        if (test->rc==0)
+        {
+            if (test->todo)
+            {
+                todo_wine
+                {
+                    ok(rc>=32, "%s failed: rc=%d err=%ld\n", shell_call,
+                       rc, GetLastError());
+                }
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                ok(rc>=32, "%s failed: rc=%d err=%ld\n", shell_call,
+                   rc, GetLastError());
+            }
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            if (test->todo)
+            {
+                todo_wine
+                {
+                    ok(rc==test->rc, "%s returned %d\n", shell_call, rc);
+                }
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                ok(rc==test->rc, "%s returned %d\n", shell_call, rc);
+            }
+        }
+        test++;
+    }
+
+    hdll=GetModuleHandleA("shell32.dll");
+    pDllGetVersion=(void*)GetProcAddress(hdll, "DllGetVersion");
+    if (pDllGetVersion)
+    {
+        dllver.cbSize=sizeof(dllver);
+        pDllGetVersion(&dllver);
+        trace("major=%ld minor=%ld build=%ld platform=%ld\n",
+              dllver.dwMajorVersion, dllver.dwMinorVersion,
+              dllver.dwBuildNumber, dllver.dwPlatformID);
+
+        /* The more recent versions of shell32.dll accept quoted filenames
+         * while older ones (e.g. 4.00) don't. Still we want to test this
+         * because IE 6 depends on the new behavior.
+         * One day we may need to check the exact version of the dll but for
+         * now making sure DllGetVersion() is present is sufficient.
+         */
+        sprintf(filename, "\"%s\\test file.shlexec\"", tmpdir);
+        rc=shell_execute(NULL, filename, NULL, NULL);
+        ok(rc>=32, "%s failed: rc=%d err=%ld\n", shell_call, rc,
+           GetLastError());
+
+        if (dllver.dwMajorVersion>=6)
+        {
+            /* Recent versions of shell32.dll accept '/'s in shortcut paths.
+             * Older versions don't or are quite buggy in this regard.
+             */
+            sprintf(filename, "%s\\test_shortcut_shlexec.lnk", tmpdir);
+            c=filename;
+            while (*c)
+            {
+                if (*c=='\\')
+                    *c='/';
+                c++;
+            }
+            rc=shell_execute(NULL, filename, NULL, NULL);
+            todo_wine {
+            ok(rc>=32, "%s failed: rc=%d err=%ld\n", shell_call, rc,
+               GetLastError());
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+
+static void test_exes()
+{
+    char filename[MAX_PATH];
+    int rc;
+
+    /* We need NOZONECHECKS on Win2003 to block a dialog */
+    rc=shell_execute_ex(SEE_MASK_NOZONECHECKS, NULL, argv0, "shlexec -nop",
+                        NULL);
+    ok(rc>=32, "%s returned %d\n", shell_call, rc);
+
+    sprintf(filename, "%s\\test file.noassoc", tmpdir);
+    if (CopyFile(argv0, filename, FALSE))
+    {
+        rc=shell_execute(NULL, filename, "shlexec -nop", NULL);
+        todo_wine {
+        ok(rc==SE_ERR_NOASSOC, "%s succeeded: rc=%d\n", shell_call, rc);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+
+static void init_test()
+{
+    char filename[MAX_PATH];
+    WCHAR lnkfile[MAX_PATH];
+    const char* const * testfile;
+    lnk_desc_t desc;
+    DWORD rc;
+    HRESULT r;
+
+    r = CoInitialize(NULL);
+    ok(SUCCEEDED(r), "CoInitialize failed (0x%08lx)\n", r);
+    if (!SUCCEEDED(r))
+        exit(1);
+
+    rc=GetModuleFileName(NULL, argv0, sizeof(argv0));
+    assert(rc!=0 && rc<sizeof(argv0));
+    if (GetFileAttributes(argv0)==INVALID_FILE_ATTRIBUTES)
+    {
+        strcat(argv0, ".so");
+        ok(GetFileAttributes(argv0)!=INVALID_FILE_ATTRIBUTES,
+           "unable to find argv0!\n");
+    }
+
+    GetTempPathA(sizeof(tmpdir)/sizeof(*tmpdir), tmpdir);
+
+    /* Set up the test files */
+    testfile=testfiles;
+    while (*testfile)
+    {
+        HANDLE hfile;
+
+        sprintf(filename, *testfile, tmpdir);
+        hfile=CreateFile(filename, GENERIC_WRITE, 0, NULL, CREATE_ALWAYS,
+                     FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, NULL);
+        if (hfile==INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)
+        {
+            trace("unable to create '%s': err=%ld\n", filename, GetLastError());
+            assert(0);
+        }
+        CloseHandle(hfile);
+        testfile++;
+    }
+
+    /* Setup the test shortcuts */
+    sprintf(filename, "%s\\test_shortcut_shlexec.lnk", tmpdir);
+    MultiByteToWideChar(CP_ACP, 0, filename, -1, lnkfile, sizeof(lnkfile)/sizeof(*lnkfile));
+    desc.description=NULL;
+    desc.workdir=NULL;
+    sprintf(filename, "%s\\test file.shlexec", tmpdir);
+    desc.path=filename;
+    desc.pidl=NULL;
+    desc.arguments="";
+    desc.showcmd=0;
+    desc.icon=NULL;
+    desc.icon_id=0;
+    desc.hotkey=0;
+    create_lnk(lnkfile, &desc, 0);
+
+    /* Create a basic association suitable for most tests */
+    create_test_association(".shlexec");
+    create_test_verb(".shlexec", "Open");
+}
+
+static void cleanup_test()
+{
+    char filename[MAX_PATH];
+    const char* const * testfile;
+
+    /* Delete the test files */
+    testfile=testfiles;
+    while (*testfile)
+    {
+        sprintf(filename, *testfile, tmpdir);
+        DeleteFile(filename);
+        testfile++;
+    }
+
+    /* Delete the test association */
+    delete_test_association(".shlexec");
+
+    CoUninitialize();
+}
+
+START_TEST(shlexec)
+{
+
+    myARGC = winetest_get_mainargs(&myARGV);
+    if (myARGC>=3)
+    {
+        /* FIXME: We should dump the parameters we got
+         *        and have the parent verify them
+         */
+        exit(0);
+    }
+
+    init_test();
+
+    test_filename();
+    test_exes();
+
+    cleanup_test();
+}