diff --git a/include/mitsuba/core/atomic.h b/include/mitsuba/core/atomic.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8d646b8c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/mitsuba/core/atomic.h
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+/*
+    This file is part of Mitsuba, a physically based rendering system.
+
+    Copyright (c) 2007-2010 by Wenzel Jakob and others.
+
+    Mitsuba is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License Version 3
+    as published by the Free Software Foundation.
+
+    Mitsuba 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 General Public License for more details.
+
+    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+    along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+*/
+
+#if !defined(__ATOMIC_H)
+#define __ATOMIC_H
+
+#include <mitsuba/mitsuba.h>
+
+MTS_NAMESPACE_BEGIN
+
+#if defined(__OSX__)
+#include <libkern/OSAtomic.h>
+#endif
+
+template <typename T> inline bool atomicCompareAndExchangePtr(T **v, T *newValue, T *oldValue) {
+#if defined(WIN32)
+    return InterlockedCompareExchange(v, newValue, oldValue) == oldValue;
+#else
+	return __sync_bool_compare_and_swap(v, oldValue, newValue);
+#endif
+}
+
+MTS_NAMESPACE_END
+
+#endif /* __ATOMIC_H */