diff --git a/lib/jekyll/filters.rb b/lib/jekyll/filters.rb
index 5bdebec8..3356eadf 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/filters.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/filters.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+require 'uri'
+
 module Jekyll
 
   module Filters
@@ -25,6 +27,10 @@ module Jekyll
       CGI::escape(input)
     end
 
+    def uri_escape(input)
+      URI.escape(input)
+    end
+
     def number_of_words(input)
       input.split.length
     end
diff --git a/test/test_filters.rb b/test/test_filters.rb
index bb2d8f82..0897fbc2 100644
--- a/test/test_filters.rb
+++ b/test/test_filters.rb
@@ -45,5 +45,9 @@ class TestFilters < Test::Unit::TestCase
     should "escape special characters" do
       assert_equal "hey%21", @filter.cgi_escape("hey!")
     end
+
+    should "escape space as %20" do
+      assert_equal "my%20things", @filter.uri_escape("my things")
+    end
   end
 end