diff --git a/libgnome-desktop/gnome-xkb-info.c b/libgnome-desktop/gnome-xkb-info.c
index 0e6c69e..2e2c2c6 100644
--- a/libgnome-desktop/gnome-xkb-info.c
+++ b/libgnome-desktop/gnome-xkb-info.c
@@ -128,12 +128,22 @@ free_option_group (gpointer data)
 }
 
 static gchar *
+get_xkb_config_root ()
+{
+  if (getenv("XKB_CONFIG_ROOT") != NULL)
+    {
+      return getenv("XKB_CONFIG_ROOT");
+    }
+  return XKB_BASE;
+}
+
+static gchar *
 get_xml_rules_file_path (const gchar *suffix)
 {
   gchar *rules_file;
   gchar *xml_rules_file;
 
-  rules_file = g_build_filename (XKB_BASE, "rules", XKB_RULES_FILE, NULL);
+  rules_file = g_build_filename (get_xkb_config_root(), "rules", XKB_RULES_FILE, NULL);
   xml_rules_file = g_strdup_printf ("%s%s", rules_file, suffix);
   g_free (rules_file);