diff --git a/src/core/getkey.c b/src/core/getkey.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0c9dac99
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/getkey.c
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2006 Michael Brown <mbrown@fensystems.co.uk>.
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the
+ * License, or any later version.
+ *
+ * This program 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
+ * General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
+ */
+
+#include <console.h>
+#include <latch.h>
+#include <gpxe/keys.h>
+
+/** @file
+ *
+ * Special key interpretation
+ *
+ */
+
+#define GETKEY_TIMEOUT ( TICKS_PER_SEC / 4 )
+
+/**
+ * Read character from console if available within timeout period
+ *
+ * @v timeout		Timeout period, in ticks
+ * @ret character	Character read from console
+ */
+static int getchar_timeout ( unsigned long timeout ) {
+	unsigned long expiry = ( currticks() + timeout );
+
+	while ( currticks() < expiry ) {
+		if ( iskey() )
+			return getchar();
+	}
+
+	return -1;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Get single keypress
+ *
+ * @ret key		Key pressed
+ *
+ * The returned key will be an ASCII value or a KEY_XXX special
+ * constant.  This function differs from getchar() in that getchar()
+ * will return "special" keys (e.g. cursor keys) as a series of
+ * characters forming an ANSI escape sequence.
+ */
+int getkey ( void ) {
+	int character;
+	int key;
+
+	character = getchar();
+	if ( character != ESC )
+		return character;
+
+	key = 0;
+	while ( ( character = getchar_timeout ( GETKEY_TIMEOUT ) ) >= 0 ) {
+		if ( character == '[' )
+			continue;
+		if ( ! key )
+			key = KEY_ANSI ( character );
+		if ( ( character >= 0x40 ) && ( character <= 0x4f ) )
+			break;
+	}
+
+	return ( key ? key : ESC );
+}
diff --git a/src/include/console.h b/src/include/console.h
index 32d28219..78bbf5d0 100644
--- a/src/include/console.h
+++ b/src/include/console.h
@@ -100,5 +100,6 @@ struct console_driver {
 extern void putchar ( int character );
 extern int getchar ( void );
 extern int iskey ( void );
+extern int getkey ( void );
 
 #endif /* CONSOLE_H */