diff --git a/src/core/qgsdataitem.cpp b/src/core/qgsdataitem.cpp
index 17f2e6436fd..4dd677c6a57 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsdataitem.cpp
+++ b/src/core/qgsdataitem.cpp
@@ -477,7 +477,6 @@ QVector<QgsDataItem*> QgsDirectoryItem::createChildren( )
   QVector<QgsDataItem*> children;
   QDir dir( mPath );
   QSettings settings;
-  bool scanZip = ( settings.value( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser", QVariant( "basic" ) ).toString() != "no" );
 
   QStringList entries = dir.entryList( QDir::AllDirs | QDir::NoDotAndDotDot, QDir::Name | QDir::IgnoreCase );
   foreach( QString subdir, entries )
@@ -497,8 +496,10 @@ QVector<QgsDataItem*> QgsDirectoryItem::createChildren( )
     QString path = dir.absoluteFilePath( name );
     QFileInfo fileInfo( path );
 
+    QString vsiPrefix = QgsZipItem::vsiPrefix( path );
     // vsizip support was added to GDAL/OGR 1.6 but GDAL_VERSION_NUM not available here
-    if ( fileInfo.suffix() == "zip" && scanZip )
+    if (( settings.value( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser", QVariant( "basic" ) ).toString() != "no" ) &&
+        ( vsiPrefix == "/vsizip/" || vsiPrefix == "/vsitar/" ) )
     {
       QgsDataItem * item = QgsZipItem::itemFromPath( this, path, name );
       if ( item )
@@ -747,6 +748,7 @@ QgsZipItem::QgsZipItem( QgsDataItem* parent, QString name, QString path )
 {
   mType = Collection; //Zip??
   mIcon = iconZip();
+  mVsiPrefix = vsiPrefix( path );
 
   if ( mProviderNames.size() == 0 )
   {
@@ -796,7 +798,6 @@ QgsZipItem::QgsZipItem( QgsDataItem* parent, QString name, QString path )
       }
     }
   }
-
 }
 
 QgsZipItem::~QgsZipItem()
@@ -879,13 +880,12 @@ QVector<QgsDataItem*> QgsZipItem::createChildren( )
   QVector<QgsDataItem*> children;
   QString tmpPath;
   QString childPath;
-
   QSettings settings;
   QString scanZipSetting = settings.value( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser", "basic" ).toString();
 
   mZipFileList.clear();
 
-  QgsDebugMsg( QString( "path = %1 name= %2 scanZipSetting= %3" ).arg( path() ).arg( name() ).arg( scanZipSetting ) );
+  QgsDebugMsg( QString( "path = %1 name= %2 scanZipSetting= %3 vsiPrefix= %4" ).arg( path() ).arg( name() ).arg( scanZipSetting ).arg( mVsiPrefix ) );
 
   // if scanZipBrowser == no: skip to the next file
   if ( scanZipSetting == "no" )
@@ -901,31 +901,14 @@ QVector<QgsDataItem*> QgsZipItem::createChildren( )
   //   return children;
   // }
 
-  // get list of files inside zip file
-  QgsDebugMsg( QString( "Open file %1 with gdal vsi" ).arg( path() ) );
-  char **papszSiblingFiles = VSIReadDirRecursive1( QString( "/vsizip/" + path() ).toLocal8Bit().constData() );
-  if ( papszSiblingFiles )
-  {
-    for ( int i = 0; i < CSLCount( papszSiblingFiles ); i++ )
-    {
-      tmpPath = papszSiblingFiles[i];
-      QgsDebugMsg( QString( "Read file %1" ).arg( tmpPath ) );
-      // skip directories (files ending with /)
-      if ( tmpPath.right( 1 ) != "/" )
-        mZipFileList << tmpPath;
-    }
-    CSLDestroy( papszSiblingFiles );
-  }
-  else
-  {
-    QgsDebugMsg( QString( "Error reading %1" ).arg( path() ) );
-  }
+  // first get list of files
+  getZipFileList();
 
   // loop over files inside zip
   foreach( QString fileName, mZipFileList )
   {
     QFileInfo info( fileName );
-    tmpPath = "/vsizip/" + path() + "/" + fileName;
+    tmpPath = mVsiPrefix + path() + "/" + fileName;
     QgsDebugMsg( "tmpPath = " + tmpPath );
 
     // foreach( dataItem_t *dataItem, mDataItemPtr )
@@ -934,7 +917,7 @@ QVector<QgsDataItem*> QgsZipItem::createChildren( )
       // ugly hack to remove .dbf file if there is a .shp file
       if ( mProviderNames[i] == "ogr" )
       {
-        if ( info.suffix() == "dbf" )
+        if ( info.suffix().toLower() == "dbf" )
         {
           if ( mZipFileList.indexOf( fileName.left( fileName.count() - 4 ) + ".shp" ) != -1 )
             continue;
@@ -976,20 +959,38 @@ QVector<QgsDataItem*> QgsZipItem::createChildren( )
   return children;
 }
 
-
+QString QgsZipItem::vsiPrefix( QString path )
+{
+  if ( path.startsWith( "/vsizip/", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) ||
+       path.endsWith( ".zip", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) )
+    return "/vsizip/";
+  else if ( path.startsWith( "/vsitar/", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) ||
+            path.endsWith( ".tar", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) ||
+            path.endsWith( ".tar.gz", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) ||
+            path.endsWith( ".tgz", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) )
+    return "/vsitar/";
+  else if ( path.startsWith( "/vsigzip/", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) ||
+            path.endsWith( ".gz", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) )
+    return "/vsigzip/";
+  else
+    return "";
+}
 
 QgsDataItem* QgsZipItem::itemFromPath( QgsDataItem* parent, QString path, QString name )
 {
   QSettings settings;
   QString scanZipSetting = settings.value( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser", "basic" ).toString();
-  QString vsizipPath = path;
+  QString vsiPath = path;
   int zipFileCount = 0;
+  QStringList zipFileList;
   QFileInfo fileInfo( path );
+  QString vsiPrefix = QgsZipItem::vsiPrefix( path );
   QgsZipItem * zipItem = 0;
+  bool populated = false;
 
-  QgsDebugMsg( QString( "path = %1 name= %2 scanZipSetting= %3" ).arg( path ).arg( name ).arg( scanZipSetting ) );
+  QgsDebugMsg( QString( "path = %1 name= %2 scanZipSetting= %3 vsiPrefix= %4" ).arg( path ).arg( name ).arg( scanZipSetting ).arg( vsiPrefix ) );
 
-  // if scanZipBrowser == no: skip to the next file
+  // if scanZipBrowser == no: don't read the zip file
   if ( scanZipSetting == "no" )
   {
     return 0;
@@ -1007,29 +1008,47 @@ QgsDataItem* QgsZipItem::itemFromPath( QgsDataItem* parent, QString path, QStrin
 
   if ( zipItem )
   {
-    // force populate zipItem
-    zipItem->populate();
-    QgsDebugMsg( QString( "Got zipItem with %1 children, path=%2, name=%3" ).arg( zipItem->rowCount() ).arg( zipItem->path() ).arg( zipItem->name() ) );
+    // force populate zipItem if it has less than 10 items and is not a .tgz or .tar.gz file (slow loading)
+    // for other items populating will be delayed until item is opened
+    // this might be polluting the tree with empty items but is necessary for performance reasons
+    // could also accept all files smaller than a certain size and add options for file count and/or size
+
+    // first get list of files inside .zip or .tar files
+    if ( path.endsWith( ".zip", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) ||
+         path.endsWith( ".tar", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) )
+    {
+      zipFileList = zipItem->getZipFileList();
+    }
+    // force populate if less than 10 items
+    if ( zipFileList.count() > 0 && zipFileList.count() <= 10 )
+    {
+      zipItem->populate();
+      populated = true; // there is no QgsDataItem::isPopulated() function
+      QgsDebugMsg( QString( "Got zipItem with %1 children, path=%2, name=%3" ).arg( zipItem->rowCount() ).arg( zipItem->path() ).arg( zipItem->name() ) );
+    }
+    else
+    {
+      QgsDebugMsg( QString( "Delaying populating zipItem with path=%1, name=%2" ).arg( zipItem->path() ).arg( zipItem->name() ) );
+    }
   }
 
-// only display if has children
-// other option would be to delay until item is opened, but we would be polluting the tree with empty items
-  if ( zipItem && zipItem->rowCount() > 1 )
+  // only display if has children or if is not populated
+  if ( zipItem && ( !populated || zipItem->rowCount() > 1 ) )
   {
     QgsDebugMsg( "returning zipItem" );
     return zipItem;
   }
-// if 1 or 0 child found, create a single data item using the normal path or the full path given by QgsZipItem
+  // if 1 or 0 child found, create a single data item using the normal path or the full path given by QgsZipItem
   else
   {
     if ( zipItem )
     {
-      vsizipPath = zipItem->path();
-      zipFileCount = zipItem->getZipFileList().count();
+      vsiPath = zipItem->path();
+      zipFileCount = zipFileList.count();
       delete zipItem;
     }
 
-    QgsDebugMsg( QString( "will try to create a normal dataItem from path= %2 or %3" ).arg( path ).arg( vsizipPath ) );
+    QgsDebugMsg( QString( "will try to create a normal dataItem from path= %2 or %3" ).arg( path ).arg( vsiPath ) );
 
     // try to open using registered providers (gdal and ogr)
     for ( int i = 0; i < mProviderNames.size(); i++ )
@@ -1047,7 +1066,7 @@ QgsDataItem* QgsZipItem::itemFromPath( QgsDataItem* parent, QString path, QStrin
           item = dataItem( path, parent );
         // try with /vsizip/
         if ( ! item )
-          item = dataItem( vsizipPath, parent );
+          item = dataItem( vsiPath, parent );
         if ( item )
           return item;
       }
@@ -1056,3 +1075,43 @@ QgsDataItem* QgsZipItem::itemFromPath( QgsDataItem* parent, QString path, QStrin
 
   return 0;
 }
+
+const QStringList & QgsZipItem::getZipFileList()
+{
+  if ( ! mZipFileList.isEmpty() )
+    return mZipFileList;
+
+  QString tmpPath;
+  QSettings settings;
+  QString scanZipSetting = settings.value( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser", "basic" ).toString();
+
+  QgsDebugMsg( QString( "path = %1 name= %2 scanZipSetting= %3 vsiPrefix= %4" ).arg( path() ).arg( name() ).arg( scanZipSetting ).arg( mVsiPrefix ) );
+
+  // if scanZipBrowser == no: skip to the next file
+  if ( scanZipSetting == "no" )
+  {
+    return mZipFileList;
+  }
+
+  // get list of files inside zip file
+  QgsDebugMsg( QString( "Open file %1 with gdal vsi" ).arg( mVsiPrefix + path() ) );
+  char **papszSiblingFiles = VSIReadDirRecursive1( QString( mVsiPrefix + path() ).toLocal8Bit().constData() );
+  if ( papszSiblingFiles )
+  {
+    for ( int i = 0; i < CSLCount( papszSiblingFiles ); i++ )
+    {
+      tmpPath = papszSiblingFiles[i];
+      QgsDebugMsg( QString( "Read file %1" ).arg( tmpPath ) );
+      // skip directories (files ending with /)
+      if ( tmpPath.right( 1 ) != "/" )
+        mZipFileList << tmpPath;
+    }
+    CSLDestroy( papszSiblingFiles );
+  }
+  else
+  {
+    QgsDebugMsg( QString( "Error reading %1" ).arg( path() ) );
+  }
+
+  return mZipFileList;
+}
diff --git a/src/core/qgsdataitem.h b/src/core/qgsdataitem.h
index 51feab8173b..82fb70a8a8e 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsdataitem.h
+++ b/src/core/qgsdataitem.h
@@ -298,6 +298,7 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsZipItem : public QgsDataCollectionItem
     Q_OBJECT
 
   protected:
+    QString mVsiPrefix;
     QStringList mZipFileList;
 
   public:
@@ -305,17 +306,17 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsZipItem : public QgsDataCollectionItem
     ~QgsZipItem();
 
     QVector<QgsDataItem*> createChildren();
-    QStringList getFiles();
+    const QStringList & getZipFileList();
 
     static QVector<dataItem_t *> mDataItemPtr;
     static QStringList mProviderNames;
 
+    static QString vsiPrefix( QString uri );
+
     static QgsDataItem* itemFromPath( QgsDataItem* parent, QString path, QString name );
 
     static const QIcon &iconZip();
 
-    const QStringList & getZipFileList() const { return mZipFileList; }
-
 };
 
 #endif // QGSDATAITEM_H
diff --git a/src/core/qgsmaplayer.cpp b/src/core/qgsmaplayer.cpp
index ea1f5254f2d..b5872451fec 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsmaplayer.cpp
+++ b/src/core/qgsmaplayer.cpp
@@ -642,6 +642,14 @@ QString QgsMapLayer::styleURI( )
     // ideally we should look for .qml file inside zip file
     myURI.remove( 0, 8 );
   }
+  else if ( myURI.startsWith( "/vsitar/", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) &&
+            ( myURI.endsWith( ".tar", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) ||
+              myURI.endsWith( ".tar.gz", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) ||
+              myURI.endsWith( ".tgz", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) ) )
+  {
+    // ideally we should look for .qml file inside tar file
+    myURI.remove( 0, 8 );
+  }
 
   QFileInfo myFileInfo( myURI );
   QString key;
@@ -650,15 +658,18 @@ QString QgsMapLayer::styleURI( )
   {
     // if file is using the /vsizip/ or /vsigzip/ mechanism, cleanup the name
     if ( myURI.endsWith( ".gz", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) )
-    {
       myURI.chop( 3 );
-      myFileInfo.setFile( myURI );
-    }
     else if ( myURI.endsWith( ".zip", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) )
-    {
       myURI.chop( 4 );
-      myFileInfo.setFile( myURI );
-    }
+    else if ( myURI.endsWith( ".tar", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) )
+      myURI.chop( 4 );
+    else if ( myURI.endsWith( ".tar.gz", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) )
+      myURI.chop( 7 );
+    else if ( myURI.endsWith( ".tgz", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) )
+      myURI.chop( 4 );
+    else if ( myURI.endsWith( ".gz", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) )
+      myURI.chop( 3 );
+    myFileInfo.setFile( myURI );
     // get the file name for our .qml style file
     key = myFileInfo.path() + QDir::separator() + myFileInfo.completeBaseName() + ".qml";
   }
diff --git a/src/providers/gdal/qgsgdaldataitems.cpp b/src/providers/gdal/qgsgdaldataitems.cpp
index eb57aa74d57..245742d7f8f 100644
--- a/src/providers/gdal/qgsgdaldataitems.cpp
+++ b/src/providers/gdal/qgsgdaldataitems.cpp
@@ -399,10 +399,10 @@ QGISEXTERN QgsDataItem * dataItem( QString thePath, QgsDataItem* parentItem )
   // zip settings + info
   QSettings settings;
   QString scanZipSetting = settings.value( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser", "basic" ).toString();
-  bool is_vsizip = ( thePath.startsWith( "/vsizip/" ) ||
-                     thePath.endsWith( ".zip", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) );
-  bool is_vsigzip = ( thePath.startsWith( "/vsigzip/" ) ||
-                      thePath.endsWith( ".gz", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) );
+  QString vsiPrefix = QgsZipItem::vsiPrefix( thePath );
+  bool is_vsizip = ( vsiPrefix == "/vsizip/" );
+  bool is_vsigzip = ( vsiPrefix == "/vsigzip/" );
+  bool is_vsitar = ( vsiPrefix == "/vsitar/" );
 
   // get suffix, removing .gz if present
   QString tmpPath = thePath; //path used for testing, not for layer creation
@@ -414,10 +414,11 @@ QGISEXTERN QgsDataItem * dataItem( QString thePath, QgsDataItem* parentItem )
   info.setFile( thePath );
   QString name = info.fileName();
 
-  QgsDebugMsg( "thePath= " + thePath + " tmpPath= " + tmpPath + " name= " + name + " suffix= " + suffix );
+  QgsDebugMsg( "thePath= " + thePath + " tmpPath= " + tmpPath + " name= " + name
+               + " suffix= " + suffix + " vsiPrefix= " + vsiPrefix );
 
   // allow only normal files or VSIFILE items to continue
-  if ( !info.isFile() && !is_vsizip && !is_vsigzip )
+  if ( !info.isFile() && vsiPrefix == "" )
     return 0;
 
   // get supported extensions
@@ -434,10 +435,6 @@ QGISEXTERN QgsDataItem * dataItem( QString thePath, QgsDataItem* parentItem )
        !extensions.contains( "aux.xml" ) )
     return 0;
 
-  // skip .tar.gz files
-  if ( thePath.endsWith( ".tar.gz", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) )
-    return 0;
-
   // Filter files by extension
   if ( !extensions.contains( suffix ) )
   {
@@ -455,30 +452,27 @@ QGISEXTERN QgsDataItem * dataItem( QString thePath, QgsDataItem* parentItem )
       return 0;
   }
 
-  // add /vsizip/ or /vsigzip/ to path if file extension is .zip or .gz
-  if ( is_vsigzip )
+  // fix vsifile path and name
+  if ( vsiPrefix != "" )
   {
-    if ( !thePath.startsWith( "/vsigzip/" ) )
-      thePath = "/vsigzip/" + thePath;
-  }
-  else if ( is_vsizip )
-  {
-    if ( !thePath.startsWith( "/vsizip/" ) )
-      thePath = "/vsizip/" + thePath;
+    // add vsiPrefix to path if needed
+    if ( !thePath.startsWith( vsiPrefix ) )
+      thePath = vsiPrefix + thePath;
     // if this is a /vsigzip/path_to_zip.zip/file_inside_zip remove the full path from the name
-    if ( thePath != "/vsizip/" + parentItem->path() )
+    if (( is_vsizip || is_vsitar ) && ( thePath != vsiPrefix + parentItem->path() ) )
     {
       name = thePath;
-      name = name.replace( "/vsizip/" + parentItem->path() + "/", "" );
+      name = name.replace( vsiPrefix + parentItem->path() + "/", "" );
     }
   }
 
   // return a /vsizip/ item without testing if:
   // zipfile and scan zip == "Basic scan"
   // not zipfile and scan items == "Check extension"
-  if (( is_vsizip && scanZipSetting == "basic" ) ||
-      ( !is_vsizip && ( settings.value( "/qgis/scanItemsInBrowser",
-                                        "extension" ).toString() == "extension" ) ) )
+  if ((( is_vsizip || is_vsitar ) && scanZipSetting == "basic" ) ||
+      ( !is_vsizip && !is_vsitar &&
+        ( settings.value( "/qgis/scanItemsInBrowser",
+                          "extension" ).toString() == "extension" ) ) )
   {
     // if this is a VRT file make sure it is raster VRT to avoid duplicates
     if ( suffix == "vrt" )
diff --git a/src/providers/gdal/qgsgdalprovider.cpp b/src/providers/gdal/qgsgdalprovider.cpp
index 0ea91bf17cf..512229de43f 100644
--- a/src/providers/gdal/qgsgdalprovider.cpp
+++ b/src/providers/gdal/qgsgdalprovider.cpp
@@ -111,19 +111,12 @@ QgsGdalProvider::QgsGdalProvider( QString const & uri )
   mGdalDataset = NULL;
 
   // Try to open using VSIFileHandler (see qgsogrprovider.cpp)
-  // TODO suppress error messages and report in debug, like in OGR provider
-  // TODO use the file name of the file inside the zip, needs unzip.h
-  if ( uri.endsWith( ".zip", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) )
+  QString vsiPrefix = QgsZipItem::vsiPrefix( uri );
+  if ( vsiPrefix != "" )
   {
-    if ( !uri.startsWith( "/vsizip/" ) )
-      setDataSourceUri( "/vsizip/" + uri );
-    QgsDebugMsg( QString( "Trying /vsizip syntax, uri= %1" ).arg( dataSourceUri() ) );
-  }
-  else if ( uri.endsWith( ".gz", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) )
-  {
-    if ( !uri.startsWith( "/vsigzip/" ) )
-      setDataSourceUri( "/vsigzip/" + uri );
-    QgsDebugMsg( QString( "Trying /vsigzip syntax, uri= %1" ).arg( dataSourceUri() ) );
+    if ( !uri.startsWith( vsiPrefix ) )
+      setDataSourceUri( vsiPrefix + uri );
+    QgsDebugMsg( QString( "Trying %1 syntax, uri= %2" ).arg( vsiPrefix ).arg( dataSourceUri() ) );
   }
 
   // The uri is either a file name or encoded parameters for WCS
@@ -1920,8 +1913,9 @@ void buildSupportedRasterFileFilterAndExtensions( QString & theFileFiltersString
   {
     QString glob = "*.zip";
     glob += " *.gz";
+    glob += " *.tar *.tar.gz *.tgz";
     theFileFiltersString += ";;[GDAL] " + QObject::tr( "GDAL/OGR VSIFileHandler" ) + " (" + glob.toLower() + " " + glob.toUpper() + ")";
-    theExtensions << "zip" << "gz";
+    theExtensions << "zip" << "gz" << "tar" << "tar.gz" << "tgz";
   }
 #endif
 
@@ -1940,21 +1934,12 @@ QGISEXTERN bool isValidRasterFileName( QString const & theFileNameQString, QStri
 
   // Try to open using VSIFileHandler (see qgsogrprovider.cpp)
   // TODO suppress error messages and report in debug, like in OGR provider
-  if ( fileName.endsWith( ".zip", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) )
+  QString vsiPrefix = QgsZipItem::vsiPrefix( fileName );
+  if ( vsiPrefix != "" )
   {
-    if ( !fileName.startsWith( "/vsizip/" ) )
-    {
-      fileName = "/vsizip/" + fileName;
-    }
-    QgsDebugMsg( QString( "Trying /vsizip syntax, fileName= %1" ).arg( fileName ) );
-  }
-  if ( fileName.endsWith( ".gz", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) )
-  {
-    if ( !fileName.startsWith( "/vsigzip/" ) )
-    {
-      fileName = "/vsigzip/" + fileName;
-    }
-    QgsDebugMsg( QString( "Trying /vsigzip syntax, fileName= %1" ).arg( fileName ) );
+    if ( !fileName.startsWith( vsiPrefix ) )
+      fileName = vsiPrefix + fileName;
+    QgsDebugMsg( QString( "Trying %1 syntax, fileName= %2" ).arg( vsiPrefix ).arg( fileName ) );
   }
 
   //open the file using gdal making sure we have handled locale properly
diff --git a/src/providers/ogr/qgsogrdataitems.cpp b/src/providers/ogr/qgsogrdataitems.cpp
index 9f29b99f778..154375d1887 100644
--- a/src/providers/ogr/qgsogrdataitems.cpp
+++ b/src/providers/ogr/qgsogrdataitems.cpp
@@ -240,10 +240,10 @@ QGISEXTERN QgsDataItem * dataItem( QString thePath, QgsDataItem* parentItem )
   // zip settings + info
   QSettings settings;
   QString scanZipSetting = settings.value( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser", "basic" ).toString();
-  bool is_vsizip = ( thePath.startsWith( "/vsizip/" ) ||
-                     thePath.endsWith( ".zip", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) );
-  bool is_vsigzip = ( thePath.startsWith( "/vsigzip/" ) ||
-                      thePath.endsWith( ".gz", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) );
+  QString vsiPrefix = QgsZipItem::vsiPrefix( thePath );
+  bool is_vsizip = ( vsiPrefix == "/vsizip/" );
+  bool is_vsigzip = ( vsiPrefix == "/vsigzip/" );
+  bool is_vsitar = ( vsiPrefix == "/vsitar/" );
 
   // get suffix, removing .gz if present
   QString tmpPath = thePath; //path used for testing, not for layer creation
@@ -255,10 +255,11 @@ QGISEXTERN QgsDataItem * dataItem( QString thePath, QgsDataItem* parentItem )
   info.setFile( thePath );
   QString name = info.fileName();
 
-  QgsDebugMsg( "thePath= " + thePath + " tmpPath= " + tmpPath + " name= " + name + " suffix= " + suffix );
+  QgsDebugMsg( "thePath= " + thePath + " tmpPath= " + tmpPath + " name= " + name
+               + " suffix= " + suffix + " vsiPrefix= " + vsiPrefix );
 
   // allow only normal files or VSIFILE items to continue
-  if ( !info.isFile() && !is_vsizip && !is_vsigzip )
+  if ( !info.isFile() && vsiPrefix == "" )
     return 0;
 
   QStringList myExtensions = fileExtensions();
@@ -272,10 +273,6 @@ QGISEXTERN QgsDataItem * dataItem( QString thePath, QgsDataItem* parentItem )
        !myExtensions.contains( "shp.xml" ) )
     return 0;
 
-  // skip .tar.gz files
-  if ( thePath.endsWith( ".tar.gz", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) )
-    return 0;
-
   // We have to filter by extensions, otherwise e.g. all Shapefile files are displayed
   // because OGR drive can open also .dbf, .shx.
   if ( myExtensions.indexOf( suffix ) < 0 )
@@ -302,30 +299,27 @@ QGISEXTERN QgsDataItem * dataItem( QString thePath, QgsDataItem* parentItem )
       return 0;
   }
 
-  // add /vsizip/ or /vsigzip/ to path if file extension is .zip or .gz
-  if ( is_vsigzip )
+  // fix vsifile path and name
+  if ( vsiPrefix != "" )
   {
-    if ( !thePath.startsWith( "/vsigzip/" ) )
-      thePath = "/vsigzip/" + thePath;
-  }
-  else if ( is_vsizip )
-  {
-    if ( !thePath.startsWith( "/vsizip/" ) )
-      thePath = "/vsizip/" + thePath;
+    // add vsiPrefix to path if needed
+    if ( !thePath.startsWith( vsiPrefix ) )
+      thePath = vsiPrefix + thePath;
     // if this is a /vsigzip/path_to_zip.zip/file_inside_zip remove the full path from the name
-    if ( thePath != "/vsizip/" + parentItem->path() )
+    if (( is_vsizip || is_vsitar ) && ( thePath != vsiPrefix + parentItem->path() ) )
     {
       name = thePath;
-      name = name.replace( "/vsizip/" + parentItem->path() + "/", "" );
+      name = name.replace( vsiPrefix + parentItem->path() + "/", "" );
     }
   }
 
   // return a /vsizip/ item without testing if:
   // zipfile and scan zip == "Basic scan"
   // not zipfile and scan items == "Check extension"
-  if (( is_vsizip && scanZipSetting == "basic" ) ||
-      ( !is_vsizip && ( settings.value( "/qgis/scanItemsInBrowser",
-                                        "extension" ).toString() == "extension" ) ) )
+  if ((( is_vsizip || is_vsitar ) && scanZipSetting == "basic" ) ||
+      ( !is_vsizip && !is_vsitar &&
+        ( settings.value( "/qgis/scanItemsInBrowser",
+                          "extension" ).toString() == "extension" ) ) )
   {
     // if this is a VRT file make sure it is vector VRT to avoid duplicates
     if ( suffix == "vrt" )
diff --git a/src/providers/ogr/qgsogrprovider.cpp b/src/providers/ogr/qgsogrprovider.cpp
index b4049e57a16..86beb6b93d5 100644
--- a/src/providers/ogr/qgsogrprovider.cpp
+++ b/src/providers/ogr/qgsogrprovider.cpp
@@ -264,26 +264,18 @@ QgsOgrProvider::QgsOgrProvider( QString const & uri )
 
   // Try to open using VSIFileHandler
   //   see http://trac.osgeo.org/gdal/wiki/UserDocs/ReadInZip
-  if ( mFilePath.endsWith( ".zip", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) )
+  QString vsiPrefix = QgsZipItem::vsiPrefix( uri );
+  if ( vsiPrefix != "" )
   {
     // GDAL>=1.8.0 has write support for zip, but read and write operations
     // cannot be interleaved, so for now just use read-only.
     openReadOnly = true;
-    if ( !mFilePath.startsWith( "/vsizip/" ) )
+    if ( !mFilePath.startsWith( vsiPrefix ) )
     {
-      mFilePath = "/vsizip/" + mFilePath;
+      mFilePath = vsiPrefix + mFilePath;
       setDataSourceUri( mFilePath );
     }
-    QgsDebugMsg( QString( "Trying /vsizip syntax, mFilePath= %1" ).arg( mFilePath ) );
-  }
-  else if ( mFilePath.endsWith( ".gz", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) )
-  {
-    if ( !mFilePath.startsWith( "/vsigzip/" ) )
-    {
-      mFilePath = "/vsigzip/" + mFilePath;
-      setDataSourceUri( mFilePath );
-    }
-    QgsDebugMsg( QString( "Trying /vsigzip syntax, mFilePath= %1" ).arg( mFilePath ) );
+    QgsDebugMsg( QString( "Trying %1 syntax, mFilePath= %2" ).arg( vsiPrefix ).arg( mFilePath ) );
   }
 
   QgsDebugMsg( "mFilePath: " + mFilePath );
@@ -1792,16 +1784,14 @@ QString createFilters( QString type )
     // VSIFileHandler (.zip and .gz files)
     //   see http://trac.osgeo.org/gdal/wiki/UserDocs/ReadInZip
     // Requires GDAL>=1.6.0 with libz support, let's assume we have it.
-    // For .zip this works only if there is one file (or dataset) in the root of the zip.
-    // Only tested with tiff, shape (zip) and spatialite (zip and gz).
     // This does not work for some file types, see VSIFileHandler doc.
-    // Ideally we should also add support for /vsitar/ (requires cpl_vsil_tar.cpp).
 #if defined(GDAL_VERSION_NUM) && GDAL_VERSION_NUM >= 1600
     QSettings settings;
     if ( settings.value( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser", "basic" ).toString() != "no" )
     {
-      myFileFilters += createFileFilter_( QObject::tr( "GDAL/OGR VSIFileHandler" ), "*.zip *.gz" );
-      myExtensions << "zip" << "gz";
+      myFileFilters += createFileFilter_( QObject::tr( "GDAL/OGR VSIFileHandler" ), "*.zip *.gz *.tar *.tar.gz *.tgz" );
+      myExtensions << "zip" << "gz" << "tar" << "tar.gz" << "tgz";
+
     }
 #endif
 
diff --git a/tests/src/core/testziplayer.cpp b/tests/src/core/testziplayer.cpp
index b4efc9c1f22..cc5991a697b 100644
--- a/tests/src/core/testziplayer.cpp
+++ b/tests/src/core/testziplayer.cpp
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ class TestZipLayer: public QObject
     bool testZipItem( QString myFileName, QString myChildName = "", QString myDriverName = "" );
     // get layer transparency to test for .qml loading
     int getLayerTransparency( QString myFileName, QString myProviderKey, QString myScanZipSetting = "basic" );
+    bool testZipItemTransparency( QString myFileName, QString myProviderKey, int myTarget );
 
   private slots:
 
@@ -65,20 +66,28 @@ class TestZipLayer: public QObject
     // tests
     // test for .zip and .gz files using all options
     void testPassthruVectorZip();
+    void testPassthruVectorTar();
     void testPassthruVectorGzip();
     void testPassthruRasterZip();
+    void testPassthruRasterTar();
     void testPassthruRasterGzip();
     // test both "Basic Scan" and "Full scan" for .zip files
     void testZipItemRaster();
+    void testTarItemRaster();
     void testZipItemVector();
+    void testTarItemVector();
     void testZipItemAll();
+    void testTarItemAll();
     // test that styles are loaded from .qml files outside zip files
     void testZipItemVectorTransparency();
-    void testGZipItemVectorTransparency();
+    void testTarItemVectorTransparency();
+    void testGzipItemVectorTransparency();
     void testZipItemRasterTransparency();
-    void testGZipItemRasterTransparency();
+    void testTarItemRasterTransparency();
+    void testGzipItemRasterTransparency();
     //make sure items inside subfolders can be read
     void testZipItemSubfolder();
+    void testTarItemSubfolder();
     //make sure .vrt items are loaded by proper provider (gdal/ogr)
     void testZipItemVRT();
 };
@@ -225,6 +234,21 @@ int TestZipLayer::getLayerTransparency( QString myFileName, QString myProviderKe
   return myTransparency;
 }
 
+bool TestZipLayer::testZipItemTransparency( QString myFileName, QString myProviderKey, int myTarget )
+{
+  int myTransparency;
+  foreach( QString s, mScanZipSettings )
+  {
+    myTransparency = getLayerTransparency( myFileName, myProviderKey, s );
+    if ( myTransparency != myTarget )
+    {
+      QWARN( QString( "Transparency of %1 is %2, should be %3" ).arg( myFileName ).arg( myTransparency ).arg( myTarget ).toLocal8Bit().data() );
+      return false;
+    }
+  }
+  return true;
+}
+
 
 // slots
 void TestZipLayer::initTestCase()
@@ -257,7 +281,6 @@ void TestZipLayer::cleanupTestCase()
   settings.setValue( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser", mScanZipSetting );
 }
 
-
 void TestZipLayer::testPassthruVectorZip()
 {
   QSettings settings;
@@ -275,6 +298,21 @@ void TestZipLayer::testPassthruVectorZip()
   }
 }
 
+void TestZipLayer::testPassthruVectorTar()
+{
+  QSettings settings;
+  QString myFileName = mDataDir + "points2.tar";
+#if GDAL_VERSION_NUM < 1800
+  QSKIP( "This test requires GDAL >= 1.8", SkipSingle );
+#endif
+  foreach( QString s, mScanZipSettings )
+  {
+    settings.setValue( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser", s );
+    QVERIFY( s == settings.value( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser" ).toString() );
+    QVERIFY( testZipItemPassthru( myFileName, "ogr" ) );
+  }
+}
+
 void TestZipLayer::testPassthruVectorGzip()
 {
   QSettings settings;
@@ -300,6 +338,20 @@ void TestZipLayer::testPassthruRasterZip()
   }
 }
 
+void TestZipLayer::testPassthruRasterTar()
+{
+#if GDAL_VERSION_NUM < 1800
+  QSKIP( "This test requires GDAL >= 1.8", SkipSingle );
+#endif
+  QSettings settings;
+  foreach( QString s, mScanZipSettings )
+  {
+    settings.setValue( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser", s );
+    QVERIFY( s == settings.value( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser" ).toString() );
+    QVERIFY( testZipItemPassthru( mDataDir + "landsat_b1.tar", "gdal" ) );
+  }
+}
+
 void TestZipLayer::testPassthruRasterGzip()
 {
   QSettings settings;
@@ -322,6 +374,20 @@ void TestZipLayer::testZipItemRaster()
   }
 }
 
+void TestZipLayer::testTarItemRaster()
+{
+#if GDAL_VERSION_NUM < 1800
+  QSKIP( "This test requires GDAL >= 1.8", SkipSingle );
+#endif
+  QSettings settings;
+  foreach( QString s, mScanZipSettings )
+  {
+    settings.setValue( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser", s );
+    QVERIFY( s == settings.value( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser" ).toString() );
+    QVERIFY( testZipItem( mDataDir + "testtar.tgz", "landsat_b1.tif" ) );
+  }
+}
+
 void TestZipLayer::testZipItemVector()
 {
   QSettings settings;
@@ -333,6 +399,20 @@ void TestZipLayer::testZipItemVector()
   }
 }
 
+void TestZipLayer::testTarItemVector()
+{
+#if GDAL_VERSION_NUM < 1800
+  QSKIP( "This test requires GDAL >= 1.8", SkipSingle );
+#endif
+  QSettings settings;
+  foreach( QString s, mScanZipSettings )
+  {
+    settings.setValue( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser", s );
+    QVERIFY( s == settings.value( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser" ).toString() );
+    QVERIFY( testZipItem( mDataDir + "testtar.tgz", "points.shp" ) );
+  }
+}
+
 void TestZipLayer::testZipItemAll()
 {
   // test file contains invalid items (tmp1.tif, tmp1.txt and tmp1.xml)
@@ -345,55 +425,57 @@ void TestZipLayer::testZipItemAll()
   QVERIFY( testZipItem( mDataDir + "testzip.zip", "" ) );
 }
 
+void TestZipLayer::testTarItemAll()
+{
+#if GDAL_VERSION_NUM < 1800
+  QSKIP( "This test requires GDAL >= 1.8", SkipSingle );
+#endif
+  QSettings settings;
+  settings.setValue( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser", "full" );
+  QVERIFY( "full" == settings.value( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser" ).toString() );
+  QVERIFY( testZipItem( mDataDir + "testtar.tgz", "" ) );
+}
 
 void TestZipLayer::testZipItemVectorTransparency()
 {
 #if GDAL_VERSION_NUM < 1800
   QSKIP( "This test requires GDAL >= 1.8", SkipSingle );
 #endif
-  int myTarget = 250;
-  int myTransparency;
-  foreach( QString s, mScanZipSettings )
-  {
-    myTransparency = getLayerTransparency( mDataDir + "points2.zip", "ogr", "basic" );
-    QVERIFY2(( myTransparency == myTarget ), QString( "Transparency is %1, should be %2" ).arg( myTransparency ).arg( myTarget ).toLocal8Bit().data() );
-  }
+  QVERIFY( testZipItemTransparency( mDataDir + "points2.zip", "ogr", 250 ) );
 }
 
-void TestZipLayer::testGZipItemVectorTransparency()
+void TestZipLayer::testTarItemVectorTransparency()
+{
+#if GDAL_VERSION_NUM < 1800
+  QSKIP( "This test requires GDAL >= 1.8", SkipSingle );
+#endif
+  QVERIFY( testZipItemTransparency( mDataDir + "points2.tar", "ogr", 250 ) );
+}
+
+void TestZipLayer::testGzipItemVectorTransparency()
 {
 #if GDAL_VERSION_NUM < 1700
   QSKIP( "This test requires GDAL >= 1.7", SkipSingle );
 #endif
-  int myTarget = 250;
-  int myTransparency;
-  foreach( QString s, mScanZipSettings )
-  {
-    myTransparency = getLayerTransparency( mDataDir + "points3.geojson.gz", "ogr", s );
-    QVERIFY2(( myTransparency == myTarget ), QString( "Transparency is %1, should be %2" ).arg( myTransparency ).arg( myTarget ).toLocal8Bit().data() );
-  }
+  QVERIFY( testZipItemTransparency( mDataDir + "points3.geojson.gz", "ogr", 250 ) );
 }
 
 void TestZipLayer::testZipItemRasterTransparency()
 {
-  int myTarget = 250;
-  int myTransparency;
-  foreach( QString s, mScanZipSettings )
-  {
-    myTransparency = getLayerTransparency( mDataDir + "landsat_b1.zip", "gdal", s );
-    QVERIFY2(( myTransparency == myTarget ), QString( "Transparency is %1, should be %2" ).arg( myTransparency ).arg( myTarget ).toLocal8Bit().data() );
-  }
+  QVERIFY( testZipItemTransparency( mDataDir + "landsat_b1.zip", "gdal", 250 ) );
 }
 
-void TestZipLayer::testGZipItemRasterTransparency()
+void TestZipLayer::testTarItemRasterTransparency()
 {
-  int myTarget = 250;
-  int myTransparency;
-  foreach( QString s, mScanZipSettings )
-  {
-    myTransparency = getLayerTransparency( mDataDir + "landsat_b1.tif.gz", "gdal", s );
-    QVERIFY2(( myTransparency == myTarget ), QString( "Transparency is %1, should be %2" ).arg( myTransparency ).arg( myTarget ).toLocal8Bit().data() );
-  }
+#if GDAL_VERSION_NUM < 1800
+  QSKIP( "This test requires GDAL >= 1.8", SkipSingle );
+#endif
+  QVERIFY( testZipItemTransparency( mDataDir + "landsat_b1.tar", "gdal", 250 ) );
+}
+
+void TestZipLayer::testGzipItemRasterTransparency()
+{
+  QVERIFY( testZipItemTransparency( mDataDir + "landsat_b1.tif.gz", "gdal", 250 ) );
 }
 
 void TestZipLayer::testZipItemSubfolder()
@@ -407,6 +489,17 @@ void TestZipLayer::testZipItemSubfolder()
   }
 }
 
+void TestZipLayer::testTarItemSubfolder()
+{
+  QSettings settings;
+  foreach( QString s, mScanZipSettings )
+  {
+    settings.setValue( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser", s );
+    QVERIFY( s == settings.value( "/qgis/scanZipInBrowser" ).toString() );
+    QVERIFY( testZipItem( mDataDir + "testtar.tgz", "folder/folder2/landsat_b2.tif" ) );
+  }
+}
+
 
 void TestZipLayer::testZipItemVRT()
 {
diff --git a/tests/testdata/landsat_b1.tar b/tests/testdata/landsat_b1.tar
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a97f57a5a51
Binary files /dev/null and b/tests/testdata/landsat_b1.tar differ
diff --git a/tests/testdata/points2.tar b/tests/testdata/points2.tar
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..57def45f18d
Binary files /dev/null and b/tests/testdata/points2.tar differ
diff --git a/tests/testdata/testtar.tgz b/tests/testdata/testtar.tgz
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..35fc1f4d812
Binary files /dev/null and b/tests/testdata/testtar.tgz differ