diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 32b1f49f..a5d4a7a1 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -30,6 +30,13 @@ dnl System extensions
 dnl ---------------------------------------------------------------------
 AC_USE_SYSTEM_EXTENSIONS
 
+dnl ---------------------------------------------------------------------
+dnl Enable source code coverage reporting for GCC
+dnl ---------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+AC_ARG_ENABLE(gcov,
+              [  --enable-gcov           Enable source code coverage testing using gcov],
+              [CFLAGS="$CFLAGS -coverage"])
 dnl ---------------------------------------------------------------------
 dnl Disable window mode
 dnl ---------------------------------------------------------------------