diff --git a/src/sbin/livemedia-creator b/src/sbin/livemedia-creator
index 5a2ecae1..0aa7dfd6 100755
--- a/src/sbin/livemedia-creator
+++ b/src/sbin/livemedia-creator
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ class VirtualInstall( object ):
     Run virt-install using an iso and kickstart(s)
     """
     def __init__( self, iso, ks_paths, disk_img, img_size=2, 
-                  kernel_args=None, memory=1024, vnc=None,
+                  kernel_args=None, memory=1024, vnc=None, arch=None,
                   log_check=None, virtio_host="127.0.0.1", virtio_port=6080 ):
         """
 
@@ -238,6 +238,7 @@ class VirtualInstall( object ):
         kernel_args are extra arguments to pass on the kernel cmdline
         memory is the amount of ram to assign to the virt
         vnc is passed to the --graphics command verbatim
+        arch is the optional architecture to use in the virt
         log_check is a method that returns True of the log indicates an error
         virtio_host and virtio_port are used to communicate with the log monitor
         """
@@ -290,6 +291,10 @@ class VirtualInstall( object ):
         cmd.append("--channel")
         cmd.append(channel_args)
 
+        if arch:
+            cmd.append("--arch")
+            cmd.append(arch)
+
         log.debug( cmd )
 
         rc = execWithRedirect( cmd[0], cmd[1:] )
@@ -364,7 +369,8 @@ def get_kernels( boot_dir ):
 
 
 def make_appliance(disk_img, name, template, outfile, networks=None, ram=1024,
-                   vcpus=1, title="Linux", project="Linux", releasever=17):
+                   vcpus=1, arch=None, title="Linux", project="Linux",
+                   releasever=17):
     """
     Generate an appliance description file
 
@@ -375,6 +381,7 @@ def make_appliance(disk_img, name, template, outfile, networks=None, ram=1024,
     networks    List of networks from the kickstart
     ram         Ram, in MB, passed to template. Default is 1024
     vcpus       CPUs, passed to template. Default is 1
+    arch        CPU architecture. Default is 'x86_64'
     title       Title, passed to template. Default is 'Linux'
     project     Project, passed to template. Default is 'Linux'
     releasever  Release version, passed to template. Default is 17
@@ -384,8 +391,8 @@ def make_appliance(disk_img, name, template, outfile, networks=None, ram=1024,
 
     log.info("Creating appliance definition using ${0}".format(template))
 
-    # Mount the disk and figure out the arch
-    arch = "x86_64"
+    if not arch:
+        arch = "x86_64"
 
     log.info("Calculating SHA256 checksum of {0}".format(disk_img))
     sha256 = hashlib.sha256()
@@ -586,7 +593,7 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
                             help="Passed to --vcpus command" )
     virt_group.add_argument("--vnc",
                             help="Passed to --graphics command" )
-    virt_group.add_argument("--arch",
+    virt_group.add_argument("--arch", default=None,
                             help="Passed to --arch command" )
     virt_group.add_argument( "--kernel-args",
                              help="Additional argument to pass to the installation kernel" )
@@ -767,7 +774,7 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
                 kernel_args += " proxy="+opts.proxy
 
             virt = VirtualInstall( iso_mount, opts.ks, disk_img, disk_size,
-                                   kernel_args, opts.ram, opts.vnc,
+                                   kernel_args, opts.ram, opts.vnc, opts.arch,
                                    log_check = log_monitor.server.log_check,
                                    virtio_host = log_monitor.host,
                                    virtio_port = log_monitor.port )