diff --git a/libavutil/Makefile b/libavutil/Makefile
index 504f080430..5ece253791 100644
--- a/libavutil/Makefile
+++ b/libavutil/Makefile
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ OBJS = adler32.o \
        sha1.o \
        string.o \
        tree.o \
+       utils.o \
 
 HEADERS = adler32.h \
           avstring.h \
diff --git a/libavutil/avutil.h b/libavutil/avutil.h
index 6ce70ac5b9..6b5096e58b 100644
--- a/libavutil/avutil.h
+++ b/libavutil/avutil.h
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
 #define AV_VERSION(a, b, c) AV_VERSION_DOT(a, b, c)
 
 #define LIBAVUTIL_VERSION_MAJOR 49
-#define LIBAVUTIL_VERSION_MINOR  7
+#define LIBAVUTIL_VERSION_MINOR  8
 #define LIBAVUTIL_VERSION_MICRO  0
 
 #define LIBAVUTIL_VERSION_INT   AV_VERSION_INT(LIBAVUTIL_VERSION_MAJOR, \
@@ -48,6 +48,10 @@
 
 #define LIBAVUTIL_IDENT         "Lavu" AV_STRINGIFY(LIBAVUTIL_VERSION)
 
+/**
+ * Returns the LIBAVUTIL_VERSION_INT constant.
+ */
+unsigned avutil_version(void);
 
 #include "common.h"
 #include "mathematics.h"
diff --git a/libavutil/utils.c b/libavutil/utils.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3f9505d756
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libavutil/utils.c
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+/*
+ * This file is part of FFmpeg.
+ *
+ * FFmpeg is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * FFmpeg is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with FFmpeg; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
+ */
+
+#include "avutil.h"
+
+/**
+ * @file libavutil/utils.c
+ * various utility functions
+ */
+
+unsigned avutil_version(void)
+{
+  return LIBAVUTIL_VERSION_INT;
+}