diff --git a/Lib/distutils/tests/test_msvc9compiler.py b/Lib/distutils/tests/test_msvc9compiler.py
index e1f08d8ad87..8a908d99548 100644
--- a/Lib/distutils/tests/test_msvc9compiler.py
+++ b/Lib/distutils/tests/test_msvc9compiler.py
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ _CLEANED_MANIFEST = """\
   </dependency>
 </assembly>"""
 
-@unittest.skip("These tests are only for win32")
+@unittest.skipUnless(sys.platform=="win32", "These tests are only for win32")
 class msvc9compilerTestCase(support.TempdirManager,
                             unittest.TestCase):