diff -rup libvirt-0.7.1/qemud/libvirtd.init.in audio/qemud/libvirtd.init.in
--- libvirt-0.7.1/qemud/libvirtd.init.in	2009-07-22 09:37:32.000000000 -0400
+++ audio/qemud/libvirtd.init.in	2010-05-26 12:05:50.584822000 -0400
@@ -47,6 +47,9 @@ KRB5_KTNAME=/etc/libvirt/krb5.tab
 
 test -f @sysconfdir@/sysconfig/libvirtd && . @sysconfdir@/sysconfig/libvirtd
 
+export QEMU_AUDIO_DRV
+export SDL_AUDIODRIVER
+
 LIBVIRTD_CONFIG_ARGS=
 if [ -n "$LIBVIRTD_CONFIG" ]
 then
diff -rup libvirt-0.7.1/qemud/libvirtd_qemu.aug audio/qemud/libvirtd_qemu.aug
--- libvirt-0.7.1/qemud/libvirtd_qemu.aug	2009-09-08 10:16:02.000000000 -0400
+++ audio/qemud/libvirtd_qemu.aug	2010-05-26 12:07:24.169216000 -0400
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ module Libvirtd_qemu =
                  | str_array_entry "cgroup_device_acl"
                  | str_entry "save_image_format"
                  | str_entry "hugetlbfs_mount"
+                 | bool_entry "vnc_allow_host_audio"
 
    (* Each enty in the config is one of the following three ... *)
    let entry = vnc_entry
diff -rup libvirt-0.7.1/qemud/libvirtd.sysconf audio/qemud/libvirtd.sysconf
--- libvirt-0.7.1/qemud/libvirtd.sysconf	2010-05-26 12:04:08.379130000 -0400
+++ audio/qemud/libvirtd.sysconf	2010-05-26 12:10:28.263486000 -0400
@@ -11,7 +11,8 @@
 # Override the QEMU/SDL default audio driver probing when
 # starting virtual machines using SDL graphics
 #
-# NB these have no effect for VMs using VNC
+# NB these have no effect for VMs using VNC, unless vnc_allow_host_audio
+# is enabled in /etc/libvirt/qemu.conf
 #QEMU_AUDIO_DRV=sdl
 #
 #SDL_AUDIODRIVER=pulse
diff -rup libvirt-0.7.1/qemud/test_libvirtd_qemu.aug audio/qemud/test_libvirtd_qemu.aug
--- libvirt-0.7.1/qemud/test_libvirtd_qemu.aug	2009-09-08 10:16:02.000000000 -0400
+++ audio/qemud/test_libvirtd_qemu.aug	2010-05-26 12:11:19.540907000 -0400
@@ -92,6 +92,8 @@ cgroup_device_acl = [ \"/dev/null\", \"/
 
 save_image_format = \"gzip\"
 
+vnc_allow_host_audio = 1
+
 hugetlbfs_mount = \"/dev/hugepages\"
 "
 
@@ -195,4 +197,6 @@ hugetlbfs_mount = \"/dev/hugepages\"
 { "#empty" }
 { "save_image_format" = "gzip" }
 { "#empty" }
-{ "hugetlbfs_mount" = "/dev/hugepages" }
\ No newline at end of file
+{ "hugetlbfs_mount" = "/dev/hugepages" }
+{ "#empty" }
+{ "vnc_allow_host_audio" = "1" }
diff -rup libvirt-0.7.1/src/qemu.conf audio/src/qemu.conf
--- libvirt-0.7.1/src/qemu.conf	2009-09-10 05:15:56.000000000 -0400
+++ audio/src/qemu.conf	2010-05-26 12:08:12.419811000 -0400
@@ -152,3 +152,13 @@
 # in a location of  $MOUNTPOINT/libvirt/qemu
 
 # hugetlbfs_mount = "/dev/hugepages"
+#
+
+# QEMU implements an extension for providing audio over a VNC connection,
+# though if your VNC client does not support it, your only chance for getting
+# sound output is through regular audio backends. By default, libvirt will
+# disable all QEMU sound backends if using VNC, since they can cause
+# permissions issues. Enabling this option will make libvirtd honor the
+# QEMU_AUDIO_DRV environment variable when using VNC.
+#
+# vnc_allow_host_audio = 0
diff -rup libvirt-0.7.1/src/qemu_conf.c audio/src/qemu_conf.c
--- libvirt-0.7.1/src/qemu_conf.c	2010-05-26 12:04:08.578062000 -0400
+++ audio/src/qemu_conf.c	2010-05-26 12:09:31.174206000 -0400
@@ -318,6 +318,10 @@ int qemudLoadDriverConfig(struct qemud_d
          }
      }
 
+    p = virConfGetValue (conf, "vnc_allow_host_audio");
+    CHECK_TYPE ("vnc_allow_host_audio", VIR_CONF_LONG);
+    if (p) driver->vncAllowHostAudio = p->l;
+
     virConfFree (conf);
     return 0;
 }
@@ -2113,12 +2117,15 @@ int qemudBuildCommandLine(virConnectPtr 
             ADD_ARG_LIT(def->graphics[0]->data.vnc.keymap);
         }
 
-        /* QEMU implements a VNC extension for providing audio, so we
-         * set the audio backend to none, to prevent it opening the
-         * host OS audio devices since that causes security issues
-         * and is non-sensical when using VNC.
+        /* Unless user requested it, set the audio backend to none, to
+         * prevent it opening the host OS audio devices, since that causes
+         * security issues and might not work when using VNC.
          */
-        ADD_ENV_LIT("QEMU_AUDIO_DRV=none");
+        if (driver->vncAllowHostAudio) {
+            ADD_ENV_COPY("QEMU_AUDIO_DRV");
+        } else {
+            ADD_ENV_LIT("QEMU_AUDIO_DRV=none");
+        }
     } else if ((def->ngraphics == 1) &&
                def->graphics[0]->type == VIR_DOMAIN_GRAPHICS_TYPE_SDL) {
         char *xauth = NULL;
diff -rup libvirt-0.7.1/src/qemu_conf.h audio/src/qemu_conf.h
--- libvirt-0.7.1/src/qemu_conf.h	2009-09-10 09:45:00.000000000 -0400
+++ audio/src/qemu_conf.h	2010-05-26 12:10:07.196992000 -0400
@@ -110,6 +110,8 @@ struct qemud_driver {
     char *hugetlbfs_mount;
     char *hugepage_path;
 
+    unsigned int vncAllowHostAudio : 1;
+
     virCapsPtr caps;
 
     /* An array of callbacks */