diff --git a/legacy/ecore/src/lib/ecore/Ecore_Data.h b/legacy/ecore/src/lib/ecore/Ecore_Data.h
index 25350837b0..dd5284c66a 100644
--- a/legacy/ecore/src/lib/ecore/Ecore_Data.h
+++ b/legacy/ecore/src/lib/ecore/Ecore_Data.h
@@ -419,6 +419,8 @@ extern "C" {
       int references;
    };
    
+   int ecore_string_init(void);
+   void ecore_string_shutdown(void);
    char *ecore_string_instance(char *string);
    void ecore_string_release(char *string);
    
diff --git a/legacy/ecore/src/lib/ecore/ecore_strings.c b/legacy/ecore/src/lib/ecore/ecore_strings.c
index f1eddffea7..c68f835e3c 100644
--- a/legacy/ecore/src/lib/ecore/ecore_strings.c
+++ b/legacy/ecore/src/lib/ecore/ecore_strings.c
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 #include "ecore_private.h"
 #include "Ecore_Data.h"
 
+static void ecore_string_free_cb(void *data);
+
 static Ecore_Hash *ecore_strings = NULL;
+static int ecore_string_init_count = 0;
 
 /**
  * @defgroup Ecore_String_Group String Instance Functions
@@ -10,6 +13,27 @@ static Ecore_Hash *ecore_strings = NULL;
  * throughout your program.
  */
 
+/**
+ * Initialize the ecore string internal structure.
+ * @return  Zero on failure, non-zero on successful initialization.
+ */
+int ecore_string_init()
+{
+	/*
+	 * No strings have been loaded at this point, so create the hash
+	 * table for storing string info for later.
+	 */
+	if (!ecore_string_init_count) {
+		ecore_strings = ecore_hash_new(ecore_str_hash, ecore_str_compare);
+		if (!ecore_strings)
+			return 0;
+		ecore_hash_set_free_value(ecore_strings, ecore_string_free_cb);
+	}
+	ecore_string_init_count++;
+
+	return 1;
+}
+
 /**
  * Retrieves an instance of a string for use in an ecore program.
  * @param   string The string to retrieve an instance of.
@@ -23,13 +47,6 @@ char *ecore_string_instance(char *string)
 
 	CHECK_PARAM_POINTER_RETURN("string", string, NULL);
 
-	/*
-	 * No strings have been loaded at this point, so create the hash
-	 * table for storing string info for later.
-	 */
-	if (!ecore_strings)
-		ecore_strings = ecore_hash_new(ecore_str_hash, ecore_str_compare);
-
 	/*
 	 * Check for a previous instance of the string, if not found, create
 	 * it.
@@ -78,3 +95,24 @@ void ecore_string_release(char *string)
 		FREE(str);
 	}
 }
+
+/**
+ * Shutdown the ecore string internal structures
+ */
+void ecore_string_shutdown()
+{
+	--ecore_string_init_count;
+	if (!ecore_string_init_count) {
+		ecore_hash_destroy(ecore_strings);
+		ecore_strings = NULL;
+	}
+}
+
+static void ecore_string_free_cb(void *data)
+{
+	Ecore_String *str;
+
+	str = data;
+	FREE(str->string);
+	FREE(str);
+}