diff --git a/include/wine/port.h b/include/wine/port.h
index 97bdabbce15..f7838677e78 100644
--- a/include/wine/port.h
+++ b/include/wine/port.h
@@ -250,6 +250,16 @@ extern void *memcpy_unaligned( void *dst, const void *src, size_t size );
 
 extern int mkstemps(char *template, int suffix_len);
 
+/* Process creation flags */
+#ifndef _P_WAIT
+# define _P_WAIT    0
+# define _P_NOWAIT  1
+# define _P_OVERLAY 2
+# define _P_NOWAITO 3
+# define _P_DETACH  4
+#endif
+extern int spawnvp(int mode, const char *cmdname, char *const argv[]);
+
 /* Interlocked functions */
 
 #if defined(__i386__) && defined(__GNUC__)
@@ -321,6 +331,7 @@ extern long interlocked_xchg_add( long *dest, long incr );
 #define memmove                 __WINE_NOT_PORTABLE(memmove)
 #define pread                   __WINE_NOT_PORTABLE(pread)
 #define pwrite                  __WINE_NOT_PORTABLE(pwrite)
+#define spawnvp                 __WINE_NOT_PORTABLE(spawnvp)
 #define statfs                  __WINE_NOT_PORTABLE(statfs)
 #define strcasecmp              __WINE_NOT_PORTABLE(strcasecmp)
 #define strerror                __WINE_NOT_PORTABLE(strerror)
diff --git a/libs/port/Makefile.in b/libs/port/Makefile.in
index c789d8cd78d..11eecc838ee 100644
--- a/libs/port/Makefile.in
+++ b/libs/port/Makefile.in
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ C_SRCS = \
 	mkstemps.c \
 	pread.c \
 	pwrite.c \
+	spawn.c \
 	statfs.c \
 	strcasecmp.c \
 	strerror.c \
diff --git a/libs/port/spawn.c b/libs/port/spawn.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c69e024d119
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/port/spawn.c
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+/*
+ * spawnvp function
+ *
+ * Copyright 2003 Dimitrie O. Paun
+ *
+ * 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
+ */
+
+#include "config.h"
+#include "wine/port.h"
+
+#include <errno.h>
+#ifdef HAVE_SYS_WAIT_H
+#include <sys/wait.h>
+#endif
+#include <sys/stat.h>
+#ifdef HAVE_UNISTD_H
+# include <unistd.h>
+#endif
+
+int spawnvp(int mode, const char *cmdname, char *const argv[])
+{
+#ifndef HAVE__SPAWNVP
+    int pid = 0, status, wret;
+
+    if (mode != _P_OVERLAY) pid = fork();
+    if (pid == 0) pid = execvp(argv[0], argv);
+    if (pid < 0) return -1;
+
+    if (mode != _P_WAIT) return pid;
+
+    while (pid != (wret = waitpid(pid, &status, 0)))
+        if (wret == -1 && errno != EINTR) break;
+
+    if (pid == wret && WIFEXITED(status)) return WEXITSTATUS(status);
+
+    return 255; /* abnormal exit with an abort or an interrupt */
+#else   /* HAVE__SPAWNVP */
+    return _spawnvp(mode, cmdname, argv);
+#endif  /* HAVE__SPAWNVP */
+}