diff --git a/base64/build.sh b/base64/build.sh
index 07b44397..d11d6a92 100644
--- a/base64/build.sh
+++ b/base64/build.sh
@@ -24,3 +24,5 @@ if [ ! -d aklomp-base64-ssse ]; then
 fi
 gcc --std=c99 -O3 test-aklomp.c -I aklomp-base64-ssse/include/ aklomp-base64-ssse/lib/libbase64.o -o base64_c_ak_ssse
 wget -qO - https://cpanmin.us | perl - -L perllib MIME::Base64::Perl
+pip install pybase64
+
diff --git a/base64/test.py b/base64/test.py
index b5d7d6bc..4611d829 100644
--- a/base64/test.py
+++ b/base64/test.py
@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
-import base64, time
+try: 
+  #pip install pybase64 is required to use the fast base64 variant.
+  import pybase64 as base64 
+except ImportError:
+  import base64
+import time
 
 STR_SIZE = 10000000
 TRIES = 100