diff --git a/opal/util/path.c b/opal/util/path.c
index bab22cd6f6..5e420239d7 100644
--- a/opal/util/path.c
+++ b/opal/util/path.c
@@ -32,6 +32,21 @@ static void path_env_load(char *path, int *pargc, char ***pargv);
 static char *path_access(char *fname, char *path, int mode);
 static char *list_env_get(char *var, char **list);
 
+bool opal_path_is_absolute( const char *path )
+{
+#if defined(__WINDOWS__)
+	/* On Windows an absolute path always start with [a-z]:\ */
+	if( ':' == path[1] ) {
+		return true;
+	}
+#else
+    if( OPAL_PATH_SEP[0] == *path ) {
+        return true;
+    }
+#endif  /* defined(__WINDOWS__) */
+	return false;
+}
+
 /**
  *  Locates a file with certain permissions
  */
@@ -44,8 +59,7 @@ char *opal_path_find(char *fname, char **pathv, int mode, char **envv)
     int i;
 
     /* If absolute path is given, return it without searching. */
-
-    if (OPAL_PATH_SEP[0] == *fname) {
+    if( opal_path_is_absolute(fname) ) {
         return path_access(fname, "", mode);
     }
 
diff --git a/opal/util/path.h b/opal/util/path.h
index e0c111859b..bc06bd4244 100644
--- a/opal/util/path.h
+++ b/opal/util/path.h
@@ -69,6 +69,19 @@ extern "C" {
      */
     OPAL_DECLSPEC char *opal_path_findv(char *fname, int mode, 
                                         char **envv, char *wrkdir);
+    /**
+     *  Detect if the requested path is absolute or relative.
+     *
+     *  @param path  File name
+     *
+     *  @retval true if the path is absolute
+     *  @retval false otherwise
+     *
+     *  Detect if a path is absolute or relative. Handle Windows
+     *  with special care as an absolute path on Windows starts
+     *  with [A-Za-z]: instead of the usual / on UNIX.
+     */
+    OPAL_DECLSPEC bool opal_path_is_absolute( const char *path );
 
 #if defined(c_plusplus) || defined(__cplusplus)
 }