diff --git a/build.bat b/build.bat
index ddf012910..d42e45d13 100644
--- a/build.bat
+++ b/build.bat
@@ -282,7 +282,13 @@ xcopy /i /d /s /q .\build\Release\mapnik.dll ..\mapnik-sdk\libs\ /Y
 IF %ERRORLEVEL% NEQ 0 GOTO ERROR
 
 :: move python binding into local testable location
-xcopy /i /d /s /q .\build\Release\_mapnik.so bindings\python\mapnik\ /Y
+xcopy /i /d /s /q .\build\Release\_mapnik.pyd bindings\python\mapnik\ /Y
+echo from os.path import normpath,join,dirname > bindings\python\mapnik\paths.py
+echo mapniklibpath = '%CD%/../mapnik-sdk/libs/mapnik' >> bindings\python\mapnik\paths.py
+echo mapniklibpath = normpath(join(dirname(__file__),mapniklibpath)) >> bindings\python\mapnik\paths.py
+echo inputpluginspath = join(mapniklibpath,'input') >> bindings\python\mapnik\paths.py
+echo fontscollectionpath = join(mapniklibpath,'fonts') >> bindings\python\mapnik\paths.py
+echo __all__ = [mapniklibpath,inputpluginspath,fontscollectionpath] >> bindings\python\mapnik\paths.py
 
 
 :: plugins
diff --git a/mapnik.gyp b/mapnik.gyp
index 28dc0af52..95d7e4e27 100644
--- a/mapnik.gyp
+++ b/mapnik.gyp
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@
     {
         "target_name": "_mapnik",
         "type": "loadable_module",
-        "product_extension": "so",
+        "product_extension": "pyd",
         "sources": [ '<!@(find bindings/python/ -name "*.cpp")' ],
         "dependencies": [ "mapnik" ],
         'include_dirs': [