diff --git a/contrib/gitweb/gitweb.conf b/contrib/gitweb/gitweb.conf
index efe93a3..edf9af4 100644
--- a/contrib/gitweb/gitweb.conf
+++ b/contrib/gitweb/gitweb.conf
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ my $gl_home = "/home/git";
 
 # environment variables needed by gitolite.pm
 $ENV{GL_RC} = "$gl_home/.gitolite.rc";
-$ENV{GL_USER} = $cgi->remote_user;
+$ENV{GL_USER} = $cgi->remote_user || "gitweb";
 
 # variables from the RC file
 our ($REPO_BASE, $GL_ADMINDIR);