diff --git a/hw/mips_malta.c b/hw/mips_malta.c
index f113e5611dda1bd1b70a5f99a7b2bb5c01d54476..7336b7b05f6f15537b92e4e84e8aa5707b3e62e9 100644
--- a/hw/mips_malta.c
+++ b/hw/mips_malta.c
@@ -791,6 +791,18 @@ void mips_malta_init (int ram_size, int vga_ram_size, int boot_device,
                     buf);
             exit(1);
         }
+        /* In little endian mode the 32bit words in the bios are swapped,
+           a neat trick which allows bi-endian firmware. */
+#ifndef TARGET_WORDS_BIGENDIAN
+        {
+            uint32_t *addr;
+            for (addr = (uint32_t *)(phys_ram_base + bios_offset);
+                 addr < (uint32_t *)(phys_ram_base + bios_offset + ret);
+		 addr++) {
+                *addr = bswap32(*addr);
+            }
+        }
+#endif
     }
 
     /* If a kernel image has been specified, write a small bootloader