--- tools/dev/install_files.pl	2009-03-18 05:56:44.000000000 +0100
+++ tools/dev/install_files.pl.new	2009-03-28 07:30:57.000000000 +0100
@@ -292,6 +292,16 @@
     else {
         next unless -e $src;
         next if $^O eq 'cygwin' and -e "$src.exe"; # stat works, copy not
+        if (-l $src) {
+            # check if the system supports symbolic linking
+            use Config;
+            if ($Config{d_symlink} && $Config{d_readlink}) {
+                # copy as symbolic link
+                symlink(readlink($src), $dest);
+                print "$dest\n";
+                next;
+            }
+        }
         copy( $src, $dest ) or die "copy $src to $dest: $!\n";
         print "$dest\n";
     }