diff --git a/Doc/api/concrete.tex b/Doc/api/concrete.tex
index a77a584..96b4faf 100644
--- a/Doc/api/concrete.tex
+++ b/Doc/api/concrete.tex
@@ -1076,6 +1076,17 @@
   by the codec.
 \end{cfuncdesc}
 
+\begin{cfuncdesc}{PyObject*}{PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8Stateful}{const char *s,
+                                               int size,
+                                               const char *errors,
+                                               int *consumed}
+  If \var{consumed} is \NULL{}, behaves like \cfunction{PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8()}.
+  If \var{consumed} is not \NULL{}, trailing incomplete UTF-8 byte sequences
+  will not be treated as an error. Those bytes will not be decoded and the
+  number of bytes that have been decoded will be stored in \var{consumed}.
+  \versionadded{2.4}
+\end{cfuncdesc}
+
 \begin{cfuncdesc}{PyObject*}{PyUnicode_EncodeUTF8}{const Py_UNICODE *s,
                                                int size,
                                                const char *errors}
@@ -1121,6 +1132,20 @@
   Returns \NULL{} if an exception was raised by the codec.
 \end{cfuncdesc}
 
+\begin{cfuncdesc}{PyObject*}{PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16Stateful}{const char *s,
+                                               int size,
+                                               const char *errors,
+                                               int *byteorder,
+                                               int *consumed}
+  If \var{consumed} is \NULL{}, behaves like
+  \cfunction{PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16()}. If \var{consumed} is not \NULL{},
+  \cfunction{PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16Stateful()} will not treat trailing incomplete
+  UTF-16 byte sequences (i.e. an odd number of bytes or a split surrogate pair)
+  as an error. Those bytes will not be decoded and the number of bytes that
+  have been decoded will be stored in \var{consumed}.
+  \versionadded{2.4}
+\end{cfuncdesc}
+
 \begin{cfuncdesc}{PyObject*}{PyUnicode_EncodeUTF16}{const Py_UNICODE *s,
                                                int size,
                                                const char *errors,
diff --git a/Doc/lib/libcodecs.tex b/Doc/lib/libcodecs.tex
index a6c434a..125463b 100644
--- a/Doc/lib/libcodecs.tex
+++ b/Doc/lib/libcodecs.tex
@@ -394,9 +394,14 @@
   be extended with \function{register_error()}.
 \end{classdesc}
 
-\begin{methoddesc}{read}{\optional{size}}
+\begin{methoddesc}{read}{\optional{size\optional{, chars}}}
   Decodes data from the stream and returns the resulting object.
 
+  \var{chars} indicates the number of characters to read from the
+  stream. \function{read()} will never return more than \vars{chars}
+  characters, but it might return less, if there are not enough
+  characters available.
+
   \var{size} indicates the approximate maximum number of bytes to read
   from the stream for decoding purposes. The decoder can modify this
   setting as appropriate. The default value -1 indicates to read and
@@ -407,29 +412,29 @@
   read as much data as is allowed within the definition of the encoding
   and the given size, e.g.  if optional encoding endings or state
   markers are available on the stream, these should be read too.
+
+  \versionchanged[\var{chars} argument added]{2.4}
 \end{methoddesc}
 
-\begin{methoddesc}{readline}{[size]}
+\begin{methoddesc}{readline}{\optional{size\optional{, keepends}}}
   Read one line from the input stream and return the
   decoded data.
 
-  Unlike the \method{readlines()} method, this method inherits
-  the line breaking knowledge from the underlying stream's
-  \method{readline()} method -- there is currently no support for line
-  breaking using the codec decoder due to lack of line buffering.
-  Sublcasses should however, if possible, try to implement this method
-  using their own knowledge of line breaking.
-
   \var{size}, if given, is passed as size argument to the stream's
   \method{readline()} method.
+
+  If \var{keepends} is false lineends will be stripped from the
+  lines returned.
+
+  \versionchanged[\var{keepends} argument added]{2.4}
 \end{methoddesc}
 
-\begin{methoddesc}{readlines}{[sizehint]}
+\begin{methoddesc}{readlines}{\optional{sizehint\optional{, keepends}}}
   Read all lines available on the input stream and return them as list
   of lines.
 
   Line breaks are implemented using the codec's decoder method and are
-  included in the list entries.
+  included in the list entries if \var{keepends} is true.
 
   \var{sizehint}, if given, is passed as \var{size} argument to the
   stream's \method{read()} method.
diff --git a/Include/unicodeobject.h b/Include/unicodeobject.h
index 5126870..0ded1c7 100644
--- a/Include/unicodeobject.h
+++ b/Include/unicodeobject.h
@@ -160,7 +160,9 @@
 # define PyUnicode_DecodeLatin1 PyUnicodeUCS2_DecodeLatin1
 # define PyUnicode_DecodeRawUnicodeEscape PyUnicodeUCS2_DecodeRawUnicodeEscape
 # define PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16 PyUnicodeUCS2_DecodeUTF16
+# define PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16Stateful PyUnicodeUCS2_DecodeUTF16Stateful
 # define PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8 PyUnicodeUCS2_DecodeUTF8
+# define PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8Stateful PyUnicodeUCS2_DecodeUTF8Stateful
 # define PyUnicode_DecodeUnicodeEscape PyUnicodeUCS2_DecodeUnicodeEscape
 # define PyUnicode_Encode PyUnicodeUCS2_Encode
 # define PyUnicode_EncodeASCII PyUnicodeUCS2_EncodeASCII
@@ -233,7 +235,9 @@
 # define PyUnicode_DecodeLatin1 PyUnicodeUCS4_DecodeLatin1
 # define PyUnicode_DecodeRawUnicodeEscape PyUnicodeUCS4_DecodeRawUnicodeEscape
 # define PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16 PyUnicodeUCS4_DecodeUTF16
+# define PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16Stateful PyUnicodeUCS4_DecodeUTF16Stateful
 # define PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8 PyUnicodeUCS4_DecodeUTF8
+# define PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8Stateful PyUnicodeUCS4_DecodeUTF8Stateful
 # define PyUnicode_DecodeUnicodeEscape PyUnicodeUCS4_DecodeUnicodeEscape
 # define PyUnicode_Encode PyUnicodeUCS4_Encode
 # define PyUnicode_EncodeASCII PyUnicodeUCS4_EncodeASCII
@@ -658,6 +662,13 @@
     const char *errors		/* error handling */
     );
 
+PyAPI_FUNC(PyObject*) PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8Stateful(
+    const char *string, 	/* UTF-8 encoded string */
+    int length,	 		/* size of string */
+    const char *errors,		/* error handling */
+    int *consumed		/* bytes consumed */
+    );
+
 PyAPI_FUNC(PyObject*) PyUnicode_AsUTF8String(
     PyObject *unicode	 	/* Unicode object */
     );
@@ -702,6 +713,16 @@
 				   exit */
     );
 
+PyAPI_FUNC(PyObject*) PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16Stateful(
+    const char *string, 	/* UTF-16 encoded string */
+    int length,	 		/* size of string */
+    const char *errors,		/* error handling */
+    int *byteorder,		/* pointer to byteorder to use
+				   0=native;-1=LE,1=BE; updated on
+				   exit */
+    int *consumed		/* bytes consumed */
+    );
+
 /* Returns a Python string using the UTF-16 encoding in native byte
    order. The string always starts with a BOM mark.  */
 
diff --git a/Lib/codecs.py b/Lib/codecs.py
index 92c6fef..f831dd6 100644
--- a/Lib/codecs.py
+++ b/Lib/codecs.py
@@ -228,12 +228,22 @@
         """
         self.stream = stream
         self.errors = errors
+        self.bytebuffer = ""
+        self.charbuffer = u""
 
-    def read(self, size=-1):
+    def decode(self, input, errors='strict'):
+        raise NotImplementedError
+
+    def read(self, size=-1, chars=-1):
 
         """ Decodes data from the stream self.stream and returns the
             resulting object.
 
+            chars indicates the number of characters to read from the
+            stream. read() will never return more than chars
+            characters, but it might return less, if there are not enough
+            characters available.
+
             size indicates the approximate maximum number of bytes to
             read from the stream for decoding purposes. The decoder
             can modify this setting as appropriate. The default value
@@ -248,54 +258,70 @@
             on the stream, these should be read too.
 
         """
-        # Unsliced reading:
-        if size < 0:
-            return self.decode(self.stream.read(), self.errors)[0]
-
-        # Sliced reading:
-        read = self.stream.read
-        decode = self.decode
-        data = read(size)
-        i = 0
-        while 1:
-            try:
-                object, decodedbytes = decode(data, self.errors)
-            except ValueError, why:
-                # This method is slow but should work under pretty much
-                # all conditions; at most 10 tries are made
-                i = i + 1
-                newdata = read(1)
-                if not newdata or i > 10:
-                    raise
-                data = data + newdata
+        # read until we get the required number of characters (if available)
+        done = False
+        while True:
+            # can the request can be satisfied from the character buffer?
+            if chars < 0:
+                if self.charbuffer:
+                    done = True
             else:
-                return object
+                if len(self.charbuffer) >= chars:
+                    done = True
+            if done:
+                if chars < 0:
+                    result = self.charbuffer
+                    self.charbuffer = u""
+                    break
+                else:
+                    result = self.charbuffer[:chars]
+                    self.charbuffer = self.charbuffer[chars:]
+                    break
+            # we need more data
+            if size < 0:
+                newdata = self.stream.read()
+            else:
+                newdata = self.stream.read(size)
+            data = self.bytebuffer + newdata
+            object, decodedbytes = self.decode(data, self.errors)
+            # keep undecoded bytes until the next call
+            self.bytebuffer = data[decodedbytes:]
+            # put new characters in the character buffer
+            self.charbuffer += object
+            # there was no data available
+            if not newdata:
+                done = True
+        return result
 
-    def readline(self, size=None):
+    def readline(self, size=None, keepends=True):
 
         """ Read one line from the input stream and return the
             decoded data.
 
-            Note: Unlike the .readlines() method, this method inherits
-            the line breaking knowledge from the underlying stream's
-            .readline() method -- there is currently no support for
-            line breaking using the codec decoder due to lack of line
-            buffering. Subclasses should however, if possible, try to
-            implement this method using their own knowledge of line
-            breaking.
-
-            size, if given, is passed as size argument to the stream's
-            .readline() method.
+            size, if given, is passed as size argument to the
+            read() method.
 
         """
         if size is None:
-            line = self.stream.readline()
-        else:
-            line = self.stream.readline(size)
-        return self.decode(line, self.errors)[0]
+            size = 10
+        line = u""
+        while True:
+            data = self.read(size)
+            line += data
+            pos = line.find("\n")
+            if pos>=0:
+                self.charbuffer = line[pos+1:] + self.charbuffer
+                if keepends:
+                    line = line[:pos+1]
+                else:
+                    line = line[:pos]
+                return line
+            elif not data:
+                return line
+            if size<8000:
+                size *= 2
 
-
-    def readlines(self, sizehint=None):
+    def readlines(self, sizehint=None, keepends=True):
 
         """ Read all lines available on the input stream
             and return them as list of lines.
@@ -307,8 +333,8 @@
             way to finding the true end-of-line.
 
         """
-        data = self.stream.read()
-        return self.decode(data, self.errors)[0].splitlines(1)
+        data = self.read()
+        return self.splitlines(keepends)
 
     def reset(self):
 
diff --git a/Lib/encodings/utf_16.py b/Lib/encodings/utf_16.py
index 8c79c79..a33581c 100644
--- a/Lib/encodings/utf_16.py
+++ b/Lib/encodings/utf_16.py
@@ -10,54 +10,40 @@
 
 ### Codec APIs
 
-class Codec(codecs.Codec):
+encode = codecs.utf_16_encode
 
-    # Note: Binding these as C functions will result in the class not
-    # converting them to methods. This is intended.
-    encode = codecs.utf_16_encode
-    decode = codecs.utf_16_decode
+def decode(input, errors='strict'):
+    return codecs.utf_16_decode(input, errors, True)
 
-class StreamWriter(Codec,codecs.StreamWriter):
+class StreamWriter(codecs.StreamWriter):
     def __init__(self, stream, errors='strict'):
-        self.bom_written = 0
+        self.bom_written = False
         codecs.StreamWriter.__init__(self, stream, errors)
 
-    def write(self, data):
-        result = codecs.StreamWriter.write(self, data)
-        if not self.bom_written:
-            self.bom_written = 1
-            if sys.byteorder == 'little':
-                self.encode = codecs.utf_16_le_encode
-            else:
-                self.encode = codecs.utf_16_be_encode
+    def encode(self, input, errors='strict'):
+        self.bom_written = True
+        result = codecs.utf_16_encode(input, errors)
+        if sys.byteorder == 'little':
+            self.encode = codecs.utf_16_le_encode
+        else:
+            self.encode = codecs.utf_16_be_encode
         return result
 
-class StreamReader(Codec,codecs.StreamReader):
-    def __init__(self, stream, errors='strict'):
-        self.bom_read = 0
-        codecs.StreamReader.__init__(self, stream, errors)
+class StreamReader(codecs.StreamReader):
 
-    def read(self, size=-1):
-        if not self.bom_read:
-            signature = self.stream.read(2)
-            if signature == codecs.BOM_BE:
-                self.decode = codecs.utf_16_be_decode
-            elif signature == codecs.BOM_LE:
-                self.decode = codecs.utf_16_le_decode
-            else:
-                raise UnicodeError,"UTF-16 stream does not start with BOM"
-            if size > 2:
-                size -= 2
-            elif size >= 0:
-                size = 0
-            self.bom_read = 1
-        return codecs.StreamReader.read(self, size)
-
-    def readline(self, size=None):
-        raise NotImplementedError, '.readline() is not implemented for UTF-16'
+    def decode(self, input, errors='strict'):
+        (object, consumed, byteorder) = \
+            codecs.utf_16_ex_decode(input, errors, 0, False)
+        if byteorder == -1:
+            self.decode = codecs.utf_16_le_decode
+        elif byteorder == 1:
+            self.decode = codecs.utf_16_be_decode
+        elif consumed>=2:
+            raise UnicodeError,"UTF-16 stream does not start with BOM"
+        return (object, consumed)
 
 ### encodings module API
 
 def getregentry():
 
-    return (Codec.encode,Codec.decode,StreamReader,StreamWriter)
+    return (encode,decode,StreamReader,StreamWriter)
diff --git a/Lib/encodings/utf_16_be.py b/Lib/encodings/utf_16_be.py
index dad540b..9a51f8c 100644
--- a/Lib/encodings/utf_16_be.py
+++ b/Lib/encodings/utf_16_be.py
@@ -10,23 +10,19 @@
 
 ### Codec APIs
 
-class Codec(codecs.Codec):
+encode = codecs.utf_16_be_encode
 
-    # Note: Binding these as C functions will result in the class not
-    # converting them to methods. This is intended.
+def decode(input, errors='strict'):
+    return codecs.utf_16_be_decode(input, errors, True)
+
+class StreamWriter(codecs.StreamWriter):
     encode = codecs.utf_16_be_encode
+
+class StreamReader(codecs.StreamReader):
     decode = codecs.utf_16_be_decode
 
-class StreamWriter(Codec,codecs.StreamWriter):
-    pass
-
-class StreamReader(Codec,codecs.StreamReader):
-
-    def readline(self, size=None):
-        raise NotImplementedError, '.readline() is not implemented for UTF-16-BE'
-
 ### encodings module API
 
 def getregentry():
 
-    return (Codec.encode,Codec.decode,StreamReader,StreamWriter)
+    return (encode,decode,StreamReader,StreamWriter)
diff --git a/Lib/encodings/utf_16_le.py b/Lib/encodings/utf_16_le.py
index 8120d5b..95ca830 100644
--- a/Lib/encodings/utf_16_le.py
+++ b/Lib/encodings/utf_16_le.py
@@ -10,23 +10,20 @@
 
 ### Codec APIs
 
-class Codec(codecs.Codec):
+encode = codecs.utf_16_le_encode
 
-    # Note: Binding these as C functions will result in the class not
-    # converting them to methods. This is intended.
+def decode(input, errors='strict'):
+    return codecs.utf_16_le_decode(input, errors, True)
+
+class StreamWriter(codecs.StreamWriter):
     encode = codecs.utf_16_le_encode
+
+class StreamReader(codecs.StreamReader):
     decode = codecs.utf_16_le_decode
 
-class StreamWriter(Codec,codecs.StreamWriter):
-    pass
-
-class StreamReader(Codec,codecs.StreamReader):
-
-    def readline(self, size=None):
-        raise NotImplementedError, '.readline() is not implemented for UTF-16-LE'
 
 ### encodings module API
 
 def getregentry():
 
-    return (Codec.encode,Codec.decode,StreamReader,StreamWriter)
+    return (encode,decode,StreamReader,StreamWriter)
diff --git a/Lib/encodings/utf_8.py b/Lib/encodings/utf_8.py
index 89249a9..9cb0b4b 100644
--- a/Lib/encodings/utf_8.py
+++ b/Lib/encodings/utf_8.py
@@ -10,21 +10,19 @@
 
 ### Codec APIs
 
-class Codec(codecs.Codec):
+encode = codecs.utf_8_encode
 
-    # Note: Binding these as C functions will result in the class not
-    # converting them to methods. This is intended.
+def decode(input, errors='strict'):
+    return codecs.utf_8_decode(input, errors, True)
+
+class StreamWriter(codecs.StreamWriter):
     encode = codecs.utf_8_encode
+
+class StreamReader(codecs.StreamReader):
     decode = codecs.utf_8_decode
 
-class StreamWriter(Codec,codecs.StreamWriter):
-    pass
-
-class StreamReader(Codec,codecs.StreamReader):
-    pass
-
 ### encodings module API
 
 def getregentry():
 
-    return (Codec.encode,Codec.decode,StreamReader,StreamWriter)
+    return (encode,decode,StreamReader,StreamWriter)
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_codecs.py b/Lib/test/test_codecs.py
index c428c61..524c247 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_codecs.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_codecs.py
@@ -3,7 +3,45 @@
 import codecs
 import StringIO
 
-class UTF16Test(unittest.TestCase):
+class Queue(object):
+    """
+    queue: write bytes at one end, read bytes from the other end
+    """
+    def __init__(self):
+        self._buffer = ""
+
+    def write(self, chars):
+        self._buffer += chars
+
+    def read(self, size=-1):
+        if size<0:
+            s = self._buffer
+            self._buffer = ""
+            return s
+        else:
+            s = self._buffer[:size]
+            self._buffer = self._buffer[size:]
+            return s
+
+class PartialReadTest(unittest.TestCase):
+    def check_partial(self, encoding, input, partialresults):
+        # get a StreamReader for the encoding and feed the bytestring version
+        # of input to the reader byte by byte. Read every available from
+        # the StreamReader and check that the results equal the appropriate
+        # entries from partialresults.
+        q = Queue()
+        r = codecs.getreader(encoding)(q)
+        result = u""
+        for (c, partialresult) in zip(input.encode(encoding), partialresults):
+            q.write(c)
+            result += r.read()
+            self.assertEqual(result, partialresult)
+        # check that there's nothing left in the buffers
+        self.assertEqual(r.read(), u"")
+        self.assertEqual(r.bytebuffer, "")
+        self.assertEqual(r.charbuffer, u"")
+
+class UTF16Test(PartialReadTest):
 
     spamle = '\xff\xfes\x00p\x00a\x00m\x00s\x00p\x00a\x00m\x00'
     spambe = '\xfe\xff\x00s\x00p\x00a\x00m\x00s\x00p\x00a\x00m'
@@ -23,6 +61,81 @@
         f = reader(s)
         self.assertEquals(f.read(), u"spamspam")
 
+    def test_partial(self):
+        self.check_partial(
+            "utf-16",
+            u"\x00\xff\u0100\uffff",
+            [
+                u"", # first byte of BOM read
+                u"", # second byte of BOM read => byteorder known
+                u"",
+                u"\x00",
+                u"\x00",
+                u"\x00\xff",
+                u"\x00\xff",
+                u"\x00\xff\u0100",
+                u"\x00\xff\u0100",
+                u"\x00\xff\u0100\uffff",
+            ]
+        )
+
+class UTF16LETest(PartialReadTest):
+
+    def test_partial(self):
+        self.check_partial(
+            "utf-16-le",
+            u"\x00\xff\u0100\uffff",
+            [
+                u"",
+                u"\x00",
+                u"\x00",
+                u"\x00\xff",
+                u"\x00\xff",
+                u"\x00\xff\u0100",
+                u"\x00\xff\u0100",
+                u"\x00\xff\u0100\uffff",
+            ]
+        )
+
+class UTF16BETest(PartialReadTest):
+
+    def test_partial(self):
+        self.check_partial(
+            "utf-16-be",
+            u"\x00\xff\u0100\uffff",
+            [
+                u"",
+                u"\x00",
+                u"\x00",
+                u"\x00\xff",
+                u"\x00\xff",
+                u"\x00\xff\u0100",
+                u"\x00\xff\u0100",
+                u"\x00\xff\u0100\uffff",
+            ]
+        )
+
+class UTF8Test(PartialReadTest):
+
+    def test_partial(self):
+        self.check_partial(
+            "utf-8",
+            u"\x00\xff\u07ff\u0800\uffff",
+            [
+                u"\x00",
+                u"\x00",
+                u"\x00\xff",
+                u"\x00\xff",
+                u"\x00\xff\u07ff",
+                u"\x00\xff\u07ff",
+                u"\x00\xff\u07ff",
+                u"\x00\xff\u07ff\u0800",
+                u"\x00\xff\u07ff\u0800",
+                u"\x00\xff\u07ff\u0800",
+                u"\x00\xff\u07ff\u0800\uffff",
+            ]
+        )
+
 class EscapeDecodeTest(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_empty_escape_decode(self):
         self.assertEquals(codecs.escape_decode(""), ("", 0))
@@ -348,6 +461,9 @@
 def test_main():
     test_support.run_unittest(
         UTF16Test,
+        UTF16LETest,
+        UTF16BETest,
+        UTF8Test,
         EscapeDecodeTest,
         RecodingTest,
         PunycodeTest,
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index 4f3ced8..4ebd169 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -22,7 +22,14 @@
 Library
 -------
 
-...
+- SF patch #998993: The UTF-8 and the UTF-16 stateful decoders now support
+  decoding incomplete input (when the input stream is temporarily exhausted).
+  ``codecs.StreamReader`` now implements buffering, which enables proper
+  readline support for the UTF-16 decoders. ``codecs.StreamReader.read()``
+  has a new argument ``chars`` which specifies the number of characters to
+  return. ``codecs.StreamReader.readline()`` and
+  ``codecs.StreamReader.readlines()`` have a new argument ``keepends``.
+  Trailing "\n"s will be stripped from the lines if ``keepends`` is false.
 
 Build
 -----
@@ -32,7 +39,9 @@
 C API
 -----
 
-...
+- SF patch #998993: ``PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8Stateful`` and
+  ``PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16Stateful`` have been added, which implement stateful
+  decoding.
 
 Documentation
 -------------
diff --git a/Modules/_codecsmodule.c b/Modules/_codecsmodule.c
index 7509c1b..ccad827 100644
--- a/Modules/_codecsmodule.c
+++ b/Modules/_codecsmodule.c
@@ -269,13 +269,20 @@
     const char *data;
     int size;
     const char *errors = NULL;
-    
-    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "t#|z:utf_8_decode",
-			  &data, &size, &errors))
-	return NULL;
+    int final = 0;
+    int consumed;
+    PyObject *decoded = NULL;
 
-    return codec_tuple(PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8(data, size, errors),
-		       size);
+    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "t#|zi:utf_8_decode",
+			  &data, &size, &errors, &final))
+	return NULL;
+    consumed = size;
+	
+    decoded = PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8Stateful(data, size, errors,
+					   final ? NULL : &consumed);
+    if (decoded == NULL)
+	return NULL;
+    return codec_tuple(decoded, consumed);
 }
 
 static PyObject *
@@ -286,12 +293,19 @@
     int size;
     const char *errors = NULL;
     int byteorder = 0;
-    
-    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "t#|z:utf_16_decode",
-			  &data, &size, &errors))
+    int final = 0;
+    int consumed;
+    PyObject *decoded;
+
+    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "t#|zi:utf_16_decode",
+			  &data, &size, &errors, &final))
 	return NULL;
-    return codec_tuple(PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16(data, size, errors, &byteorder),
-		       size);
+    consumed = size;
+    decoded = PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16Stateful(data, size, errors, &byteorder,
+					    final ? NULL : &consumed);
+    if (decoded == NULL)
+	return NULL;
+    return codec_tuple(decoded, consumed);
 }
 
 static PyObject *
@@ -302,12 +316,20 @@
     int size;
     const char *errors = NULL;
     int byteorder = -1;
+    int final = 0;
+    int consumed;
+    PyObject *decoded = NULL;
     
-    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "t#|z:utf_16_le_decode",
-			  &data, &size, &errors))
+    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "t#|zi:utf_16_le_decode",
+			  &data, &size, &errors, &final))
 	return NULL;
-    return codec_tuple(PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16(data, size, errors, &byteorder),
-		       size);
+    consumed = size;
+    decoded = PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16Stateful(data, size, errors,
+	&byteorder, final ? NULL : &consumed);
+    if (decoded == NULL)
+	return NULL;
+    return codec_tuple(decoded, consumed);
+
 }
 
 static PyObject *
@@ -318,12 +340,19 @@
     int size;
     const char *errors = NULL;
     int byteorder = 1;
+    int final = 0;
+    int consumed;
+    PyObject *decoded = NULL;
     
-    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "t#|z:utf_16_be_decode",
-			  &data, &size, &errors))
+    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "t#|zi:utf_16_be_decode",
+			  &data, &size, &errors, &final))
 	return NULL;
-    return codec_tuple(PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16(data, size, errors, &byteorder),
-		       size);
+    consumed = size;
+    decoded = PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16Stateful(data, size, errors,
+	&byteorder, final ? NULL : &consumed);
+    if (decoded == NULL)
+	return NULL;
+    return codec_tuple(decoded, consumed);
 }
 
 /* This non-standard version also provides access to the byteorder
@@ -343,15 +372,19 @@
     const char *errors = NULL;
     int byteorder = 0;
     PyObject *unicode, *tuple;
-    
-    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "t#|zi:utf_16_ex_decode",
-			  &data, &size, &errors, &byteorder))
+    int final = 0;
+    int consumed;
+
+    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "t#|zii:utf_16_ex_decode",
+			  &data, &size, &errors, &byteorder, &final))
 	return NULL;
 
-    unicode = PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16(data, size, errors, &byteorder);
+    consumed = size;
+    unicode = PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16Stateful(data, size, errors, &byteorder,
+					    final ? NULL : &consumed);
     if (unicode == NULL)
 	return NULL;
-    tuple = Py_BuildValue("Oii", unicode, size, byteorder);
+    tuple = Py_BuildValue("Oii", unicode, consumed, byteorder);
     Py_DECREF(unicode);
     return tuple;
 }
diff --git a/Objects/unicodeobject.c b/Objects/unicodeobject.c
index f78788e..05fd11c 100644
--- a/Objects/unicodeobject.c
+++ b/Objects/unicodeobject.c
@@ -1136,6 +1136,14 @@
 			       int size,
 			       const char *errors)
 {
+    return PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8Stateful(s, size, errors, NULL);
+}
+
+PyObject *PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8Stateful(const char *s,
+			                int size,
+			                const char *errors,
+			                int *consumed)
+{
     const char *starts = s;
     int n;
     int startinpos;
@@ -1153,8 +1161,11 @@
     unicode = _PyUnicode_New(size);
     if (!unicode)
         return NULL;
-    if (size == 0)
+    if (size == 0) {
+        if (consumed)
+            *consumed = 0;
         return (PyObject *)unicode;
+    }
 
     /* Unpack UTF-8 encoded data */
     p = unicode->str;
@@ -1172,10 +1183,14 @@
         n = utf8_code_length[ch];
 
         if (s + n > e) {
-	    errmsg = "unexpected end of data";
-	    startinpos = s-starts;
-	    endinpos = size;
-	    goto utf8Error;
+	    if (consumed)
+		break;
+	    else {
+		errmsg = "unexpected end of data";
+		startinpos = s-starts;
+		endinpos = size;
+		goto utf8Error;
+	    }
 	}
 
         switch (n) {
@@ -1293,6 +1308,8 @@
 	     (PyObject **)&unicode, &outpos, &p))
 	goto onError;
     }
+    if (consumed)
+	*consumed = s-starts;
 
     /* Adjust length */
     if (_PyUnicode_Resize(&unicode, p - unicode->str) < 0)
@@ -1428,6 +1445,16 @@
 		      const char *errors,
 		      int *byteorder)
 {
+    return PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16Stateful(s, size, errors, byteorder, NULL);
+}
+
+PyObject *
+PyUnicode_DecodeUTF16Stateful(const char *s,
+			      int size,
+			      const char *errors,
+			      int *byteorder,
+			      int *consumed)
+{
     const char *starts = s;
     int startinpos;
     int endinpos;
@@ -1467,26 +1494,28 @@
        mark is skipped, in all other modes, it is copied to the output
        stream as-is (giving a ZWNBSP character). */
     if (bo == 0) {
-        const Py_UNICODE bom = (q[ihi] << 8) | q[ilo];
+        if (size >= 2) {
+            const Py_UNICODE bom = (q[ihi] << 8) | q[ilo];
 #ifdef BYTEORDER_IS_LITTLE_ENDIAN
-	if (bom == 0xFEFF) {
-	    q += 2;
-	    bo = -1;
-	}
-        else if (bom == 0xFFFE) {
-	    q += 2;
-	    bo = 1;
-	}
+	    if (bom == 0xFEFF) {
+		q += 2;
+		bo = -1;
+	    }
+	    else if (bom == 0xFFFE) {
+		q += 2;
+		bo = 1;
+	    }
 #else
-	if (bom == 0xFEFF) {
-	    q += 2;
-	    bo = 1;
-	}
-        else if (bom == 0xFFFE) {
-	    q += 2;
-	    bo = -1;
-	}
+	    if (bom == 0xFEFF) {
+		q += 2;
+		bo = 1;
+	    }
+	    else if (bom == 0xFFFE) {
+		q += 2;
+		bo = -1;
+	    }
 #endif
+	}
     }
 
     if (bo == -1) {
@@ -1502,8 +1531,10 @@
 
     while (q < e) {
 	Py_UNICODE ch;
-	/* remaing bytes at the end? (size should be even) */
+	/* remaining bytes at the end? (size should be even) */
 	if (e-q<2) {
+	    if (consumed)
+		break;
 	    errmsg = "truncated data";
 	    startinpos = ((const char *)q)-starts;
 	    endinpos = ((const char *)e)-starts;
@@ -1565,6 +1596,9 @@
     if (byteorder)
         *byteorder = bo;
 
+    if (consumed)
+	*consumed = (const char *)q-starts;
+
     /* Adjust length */
     if (_PyUnicode_Resize(&unicode, p - unicode->str) < 0)
         goto onError;