diff --git a/scripts/envie b/scripts/envie
index 8ee08aa..efb6b51 100755
--- a/scripts/envie
+++ b/scripts/envie
@@ -22,11 +22,12 @@ _ENVIE_USE_DB="0"
 _ENVIE_DB_PATH="$_ENVIE_CONFIG_DIR/locate.db"
 _ENVIE_CACHE_PATH="$_ENVIE_CONFIG_DIR/virtualenvs.list"
 _ENVIE_INDEX_ROOT="$HOME"
-_ENVIE_CRON_INDEX="0"        # having periodical updatedb?
-_ENVIE_CRON_PERIOD_MIN="15"  # update period in minutes
-_ENVIE_LS_INDEX="0"          # updatedb on each lsenv?
-_ENVIE_FIND_LIMIT_SEC="0.4"  # abort find search if takes longer this (in seconds)
-_ENVIE_LOCATE_LIMIT_SEC="4"  # warn if index older than this (in seconds)
+_ENVIE_CRON_INDEX="0"         # having periodical updatedb?
+_ENVIE_CRON_PERIOD_MIN="15"   # update period in minutes
+_ENVIE_LS_INDEX="0"           # updatedb on each lsenv?
+_ENVIE_FIND_LIMIT_SEC="0.4"   # abort find search if takes longer this (in seconds)
+_ENVIE_LOCATE_LIMIT_SEC="4"   # warn if index older than this (in seconds)
+_ENVIE_USE_PYVENV_FOR_PY3="0" # for py3, use pyvenv rather than slower virtualenv
 _ENVIE_UUID="28d0b2c7bc5245d5b1278015abc3f0cd"
 _ENVIE_VERSION="0.4.36-dev"
 
@@ -43,6 +44,7 @@ function _envie_dump_config() {
 		_ENVIE_LS_INDEX="$_ENVIE_LS_INDEX"
 		_ENVIE_FIND_LIMIT_SEC="$_ENVIE_FIND_LIMIT_SEC"
 		_ENVIE_LOCATE_LIMIT_SEC="$_ENVIE_LOCATE_LIMIT_SEC"
+		_ENVIE_USE_PYVENV_FOR_PY3="$_ENVIE_USE_PYVENV_FOR_PY3"
 		_ENVIE_UUID="$_ENVIE_UUID"
 	END
 }
@@ -371,16 +373,25 @@ function mkenv() {
         pip_valid_reqs+=("${pip_auto_reqs[@]}")
     fi
 
-    local output virtualenv_opts=(--no-site-packages -p "$pypath")
+    local output virtualenv_cmd=virtualenv virtualenv_opts=(--no-site-packages -p "$pypath")
 
     (( quietness > 0 )) && virtualenv_opts+=(-q)
     (( verbosity > 1 )) && virtualenv_opts+=(-v)
 
+    if (( _ENVIE_USE_PYVENV_FOR_PY3 )) && [[ "$pyver" == "Python 3"* ]]; then
+        # use py3's built-in venv which is faster than virtualenv
+        virtualenv_cmd="${pypath}"
+        # and it doesn't support (or need) our regular opts, so clear them.
+        # no need to specify python because the one we launch will be used
+        # also it does not produce much output and hence doesn't support or need -q/-v opts.
+        virtualenv_opts=(-m venv)
+    fi
+
     (
         if (( verbosity > 0 )); then
-            virtualenv "${virtualenv_opts[@]}" "$@" "$envpath"
+            "$virtualenv_cmd" "${virtualenv_opts[@]}" "$@" "$envpath"
         else
-            output=$(virtualenv "${virtualenv_opts[@]}" "$@" "$envpath" 2>&1)
+            output=$("$virtualenv_cmd" "${virtualenv_opts[@]}" "$@" "$envpath" 2>&1)
             if (( $? )); then
                 (( quietness < 2 )) && _errmsg "$output"
                 exit 1
@@ -1036,6 +1047,12 @@ function __envie_config() {
         _ENVIE_LS_INDEX=0
     fi
 
+    read -p "Use pyvenv rather than virtualenv for python3 (faster) [y/N]? " ans
+    case "$ans" in
+        Y|y) _ENVIE_USE_PYVENV_FOR_PY3=1;;
+        *) _ENVIE_USE_PYVENV_FOR_PY3=0;;
+    esac
+
     # add/remove source statement to/from .bashrc
     (( add_to_bashrc )) && __envie_register || __envie_unregister