diff --git a/lib/ansible/inventory/ini.py b/lib/ansible/inventory/ini.py
index ff1f4ceac6..1cb79ac8cd 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/inventory/ini.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/inventory/ini.py
@@ -117,7 +117,12 @@ class InventoryParser(object):
                                 (k,v) = t.split("=")
                             except ValueError, e:
                                 raise errors.AnsibleError("Invalid ini entry: %s - %s" % (t, str(e)))
-                            host.set_variable(k,ast.literal_eval(v))
+                            try:
+                                host.set_variable(k,ast.literal_eval(v))
+                            except:
+                                # most likely a string that literal_eval
+                                # doesn't like, so just set it
+                                host.set_variable(k,v)
                     self.groups[active_group_name].add_host(host)
 
     # [southeast:children]