diff --git a/pandas/io/common.py b/pandas/io/common.py
index a2cf057c8f531..f4a4ef789510c 100644
--- a/pandas/io/common.py
+++ b/pandas/io/common.py
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ def _is_url(url):
 def _is_s3_url(url):
     """Check for an s3 url"""
     try:
-        return urlparse.urlparse(url).scheme == 's3'
+        return parse_url(url).scheme == 's3'
     except:
         return False
 
diff --git a/pandas/io/tests/test_data.py b/pandas/io/tests/test_data.py
index c85fd61e975e9..34b2811876f30 100644
--- a/pandas/io/tests/test_data.py
+++ b/pandas/io/tests/test_data.py
@@ -332,6 +332,10 @@ def test_get_put_data_warning(self):
 
 
 class TestDataReader(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_is_s3_url(self):
+        from pandas.io.common import _is_s3_url
+        self.assert_(_is_s3_url("s3://pandas/somethingelse.com"))
+
     @network
     def test_read_yahoo(self):
         gs = DataReader("GS", "yahoo")