diff --git a/toolkit/content/tests/widgets/Makefile.in b/toolkit/content/tests/widgets/Makefile.in
index 6d78e04d7037..4ab09c066127 100644
--- a/toolkit/content/tests/widgets/Makefile.in
+++ b/toolkit/content/tests/widgets/Makefile.in
@@ -112,6 +112,7 @@ _TEST_FILES = 	test_bug360220.xul \
 		test_videocontrols.html \
 		test_videocontrols_video_direction.html \
 		test_videocontrols_audio_direction.html \
+		test_richlist_direction.xul \
 		videocontrols_direction-1-ref.html \
 		videocontrols_direction-1a.html \
 		videocontrols_direction-1b.html \
diff --git a/toolkit/content/tests/widgets/test_richlist_direction.xul b/toolkit/content/tests/widgets/test_richlist_direction.xul
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..e9bf9a58b942
--- /dev/null
+++ b/toolkit/content/tests/widgets/test_richlist_direction.xul
@@ -0,0 +1,139 @@
+<?xml version="1.0"?>
+<?xml-stylesheet href="chrome://global/skin" type="text/css"?>
+<?xml-stylesheet href="chrome://mochikit/content/tests/SimpleTest/test.css" type="text/css"?>
+<!--
+  XUL Widget Test for listbox direction
+  -->
+<window title="Listbox direction test"
+        onload="test_richlistbox()"
+        xmlns="http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul">
+  <script type="application/javascript"
+          src="/MochiKit/packed.js"></script>
+  <script type="application/javascript"
+          src="/tests/SimpleTest/SimpleTest.js"></script>
+  <script type="application/javascript"
+          src="/tests/SimpleTest/EventUtils.js"></script>
+
+  <richlistbox seltype="multiple" id="richlistbox" flex="1" minheight="80" maxheight="80" height="80" />
+
+  <!-- test results are displayed in the html:body -->
+  <body xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" style="height: 300px; overflow: auto;"/>
+
+<script type="application/javascript">
+<![CDATA[
+
+SimpleTest.waitForExplicitFinish();
+
+var richListBox = document.getElementById("richlistbox");
+
+function getScrollIndexAmount(aDirection) {
+  return (4 * aDirection + richListBox.currentIndex);
+}
+
+function test_richlistbox()
+{
+  richListBox.minHeight = richListBox.maxHeight = richListBox.height =
+    80 + (80 - richListBox.scrollBoxObject.height);
+  var height = richListBox.scrollBoxObject.height;
+  var item;
+  do {
+    item = richListBox.appendItem("Test", "");
+    item.height = item.minHeight = item.maxHeight = Math.floor(height / 4);
+  } while (item.getBoundingClientRect().bottom < (height * 2))
+  richListBox.appendItem("Test", "");
+  richListBox.firstChild.nextSibling.id = "list-box-first";
+  richListBox.lastChild.previousSibling.id = "list-box-last";
+
+  // direction = "reverse", the values here are backwards due to the fact that
+  // richlistboxes respond differently when a user initiates a selection
+  richListBox.dir = "reverse";
+  var count = richListBox.itemCount;
+  richListBox.selectedIndex = count - 1;
+  sendKey("DOWN", richListBox);
+  is(richListBox.currentIndex, count - 2, "Selection should move to the next item");
+  sendKey("UP", richListBox);
+  is(richListBox.currentIndex, count - 1, "Selection should move to the previous item");
+  sendKey("END", richListBox);
+  is(richListBox.currentIndex, 0, "Selection should move to the last item");
+  sendKey("HOME", richListBox);
+  is(richListBox.currentIndex, count - 1, "Selection should move to the first item");
+  var currentIndex = richListBox.currentIndex;
+  var index = getScrollIndexAmount(-1);
+  sendKey("PAGE_DOWN", richListBox);
+  is(richListBox.currentIndex, index, "Selection should move to one page down");
+  ok(richListBox.currentIndex < currentIndex, "Selection should move downwards");
+  sendKey("END", richListBox);
+  currentIndex = richListBox.currentIndex;
+  index = getScrollIndexAmount(1);
+  sendKey("PAGE_UP", richListBox);
+  is(richListBox.currentIndex, index, "Selection should move to one page up");
+  ok(richListBox.currentIndex > currentIndex, "Selection should move upwards");
+  richListBox.selectedItem = richListBox.lastChild;
+  richListBox.focus();
+  synthesizeKey("VK_DOWN", {shiftKey: true, type: "keypress"}, window);
+  let items = [richListBox.selectedItems[0],
+               richListBox.selectedItems[1]];
+  is(items[0], richListBox.lastChild, "The last element should still be selected");
+  is(items[1], richListBox.lastChild.previousSibling, "Both elements should now be selected");
+  richListBox.clearSelection();
+  richListBox.selectedItem = richListBox.lastChild;
+  sendMouseEvent({type: "click", shiftKey: true, clickCount: 1},
+                 "list-box-last",
+                 window);
+  items = [richListBox.selectedItems[0],
+           richListBox.selectedItems[1]];
+  is(items[0], richListBox.lastChild, "The last element should still be selected");
+  is(items[1], richListBox.lastChild.previousSibling, "Both elements should now be selected");
+  richListBox.addEventListener("keypress", function(aEvent) {
+    richListBox.removeEventListener("keypress", arguments.callee, true);
+    aEvent.preventDefault();
+  }, true);
+  richListBox.selectedIndex = 1;
+  sendKey("HOME", richListBox);
+  is(richListBox.selectedIndex, 1, "A stopped event should return indexing to normal");
+
+  // direction = "normal"
+  richListBox.dir = "normal";
+  richListBox.selectedIndex = 0;
+  sendKey("DOWN", richListBox);
+  is(richListBox.currentIndex, 1, "Selection should move to the next item");
+  sendKey("UP", richListBox);
+  is(richListBox.currentIndex, 0, "Selection should move to the previous item");
+  sendKey("END", richListBox);
+  is(richListBox.currentIndex, count - 1, "Selection should move to the last item");
+  sendKey("HOME", richListBox);
+  is(richListBox.currentIndex, 0, "Selection should move to the first item");
+  var currentIndex = richListBox.currentIndex;
+  var index = richListBox.scrollOnePage(1);
+  sendKey("PAGE_DOWN", richListBox);
+  is(richListBox.currentIndex, index, "Selection should move to one page down");
+  ok(richListBox.currentIndex > currentIndex, "Selection should move downwards");
+  sendKey("END", richListBox);
+  currentIndex = richListBox.currentIndex;
+  index = richListBox.scrollOnePage(-1) + richListBox.currentIndex;
+  sendKey("PAGE_UP", richListBox);
+  is(richListBox.currentIndex, index, "Selection should move to one page up");
+  ok(richListBox.currentIndex < currentIndex, "Selection should move upwards");
+  richListBox.selectedItem = richListBox.firstChild;
+  richListBox.focus();
+  synthesizeKey("VK_DOWN", {shiftKey: true, type: "keypress"}, window);
+  items = [richListBox.selectedItems[0],
+           richListBox.selectedItems[1]];
+  is(items[0], richListBox.firstChild, "The last element should still be selected");
+  is(items[1], richListBox.firstChild.nextSibling, "Both elements should now be selected");
+  richListBox.clearSelection();
+  richListBox.selectedItem = richListBox.firstChild;
+  sendMouseEvent({type: "click", shiftKey: true, clickCount: 1},
+                 "list-box-first",
+                 window);
+  items = [richListBox.selectedItems[0],
+           richListBox.selectedItems[1]];
+  is(items[0], richListBox.firstChild, "The last element should still be selected");
+  is(items[1], richListBox.firstChild.nextSibling, "Both elements should now be selected");
+  SimpleTest.finish();
+}
+
+]]>
+</script>
+
+</window>
diff --git a/toolkit/content/widgets/listbox.xml b/toolkit/content/widgets/listbox.xml
index 63ef676f93ef..2ca1a12acb0a 100644
--- a/toolkit/content/widgets/listbox.xml
+++ b/toolkit/content/widgets/listbox.xml
@@ -547,8 +547,10 @@
         <![CDATA[
           if (!aEvent.getPreventDefault()) {
             this._userSelecting = true;
+            this._mayReverse = true;
             this.moveByOffset(aOffset, !aEvent.ctrlKey, aEvent.shiftKey);
             this._userSelecting = false;
+            this._mayReverse = false;
             aEvent.preventDefault();
           }
         ]]>
@@ -575,6 +577,7 @@
 
       <field name="_suppressOnSelect">false</field>
       <field name="_userSelecting">false</field>
+      <field name="_mayReverse">false</field>
       <field name="_selectTimeout">null</field>
       <field name="_currentItem">null</field>
       <field name="_selectionStart">null</field>
@@ -588,17 +591,37 @@
                action="this._moveByOffsetFromUserEvent(1, event);"
                group="system"/>
       <handler event="keypress" keycode="VK_HOME" modifiers="control shift any"
-               action="this._moveByOffsetFromUserEvent(-this.currentIndex, event);"
-               group="system"/>
+               group="system">
+        <![CDATA[
+          this._mayReverse = true;
+          this._moveByOffsetFromUserEvent(-this.currentIndex, event);
+          this._mayReverse = false;
+        ]]>
+      </handler>
       <handler event="keypress" keycode="VK_END" modifiers="control shift any"
-               action="this._moveByOffsetFromUserEvent(this.getRowCount() - this.currentIndex - 1, event);"
-               group="system"/>
+               group="system">
+        <![CDATA[
+          this._mayReverse = true;
+          this._moveByOffsetFromUserEvent(this.getRowCount() - this.currentIndex - 1, event);
+          this._mayReverse = false;
+        ]]>
+      </handler>
       <handler event="keypress" keycode="VK_PAGE_UP" modifiers="control shift any"
-               action="this._moveByOffsetFromUserEvent(this.scrollOnePage(-1), event);"
-               group="system"/>
+               group="system">
+        <![CDATA[
+          this._mayReverse = true;
+          this._moveByOffsetFromUserEvent(this.scrollOnePage(-1), event);
+          this._mayReverse = false;
+        ]]>
+      </handler>
       <handler event="keypress" keycode="VK_PAGE_DOWN" modifiers="control shift any"
-               action="this._moveByOffsetFromUserEvent(this.scrollOnePage(1), event);"
-               group="system"/>
+               group="system">
+        <![CDATA[
+          this._mayReverse = true;
+          this._moveByOffsetFromUserEvent(this.scrollOnePage(1), event);
+          this._mayReverse = false;
+        ]]>
+      </handler>
       <handler event="keypress" key=" " modifiers="control" phase="target">
       <![CDATA[
         if (this.currentItem && this.selType == "multiple")
diff --git a/toolkit/content/widgets/richlistbox.xml b/toolkit/content/widgets/richlistbox.xml
index 70b73b378c9a..7c973fb1cbd8 100644
--- a/toolkit/content/widgets/richlistbox.xml
+++ b/toolkit/content/widgets/richlistbox.xml
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@
     <content>
       <children includes="listheader"/>
       <xul:scrollbox allowevents="true" orient="vertical" anonid="main-box"
-                     flex="1" style="overflow: auto;">
+                     flex="1" style="overflow: auto;" xbl:inherits="dir,pack">
         <children/>
       </xul:scrollbox>
     </content>
@@ -116,6 +116,53 @@
         </body>
       </method>
 
+      <!-- We override base-listbox here because those methods don't take dir
+           into account on listbox (which doesn't support dir yet) -->
+      <method name="getNextItem">
+        <parameter name="aStartItem"/>
+        <parameter name="aDelta"/>
+        <body>
+        <![CDATA[
+          var prop = this.dir == "reverse" && this._mayReverse ?
+                                                "previousSibling" :
+                                                "nextSibling";
+          while (aStartItem) {
+            aStartItem = aStartItem[prop];
+            if (aStartItem && aStartItem instanceof
+                Components.interfaces.nsIDOMXULSelectControlItemElement &&
+                (!this._userSelecting || this._canUserSelect(aStartItem))) {
+              --aDelta;
+              if (aDelta == 0)
+                return aStartItem;
+            }
+          }
+          return null;
+        ]]></body>
+      </method>
+
+      <method name="getPreviousItem">
+        <parameter name="aStartItem"/>
+        <parameter name="aDelta"/>
+        <body>
+        <![CDATA[
+          var prop = this.dir == "reverse" && this._mayReverse ?
+                                                "nextSibling" :
+                                                "previousSibling";
+          while (aStartItem) {
+            aStartItem = aStartItem[prop];
+            if (aStartItem && aStartItem instanceof
+                Components.interfaces.nsIDOMXULSelectControlItemElement &&
+                (!this._userSelecting || this._canUserSelect(aStartItem))) {
+              --aDelta;
+              if (aDelta == 0)
+                return aStartItem;
+            }
+          }
+          return null;
+        ]]>
+        </body>
+      </method>
+
       <method name="appendItem">
         <parameter name="aLabel"/>
         <parameter name="aValue"/>
@@ -303,9 +350,13 @@
         <getter>
           <![CDATA[
             var childNodes = [];
-            for (var child = this.firstChild; child; child = child.nextSibling) {
+            var isReverse = this.dir == "reverse" && this._mayReverse;
+            var child = isReverse ? this.lastChild : this.firstChild;
+            var prop = isReverse ? "previousSibling" : "nextSibling";
+            while (child) {
               if (child instanceof Components.interfaces.nsIDOMXULSelectControlItemElement)
                 childNodes.push(child);
+              child = child[prop];
             }
             return childNodes;
           ]]>
@@ -355,10 +406,16 @@
                 if (this.selType != "multiple" && this.selectedCount == 0)
                   this.selectedItem = currentItem;
 
-                if (this.scrollBoxObject.height)
+                if (this.scrollBoxObject.height) {
                   this.ensureElementIsVisible(currentItem);
-                else // XXX hack around a bug in ensureElementIsVisible
-                  this.ensureElementIsVisible(currentItem.previousSibling);
+                }
+                else {
+                  // XXX hack around a bug in ensureElementIsVisible as it will
+                  // scroll beyond the last element, bug 493645.
+                  var previousElement = this.dir == "reverse" ? currentItem.nextSibling :
+                                                                currentItem.previousSibling;
+                  this.ensureElementIsVisible(previousElement);
+                }
               }
               this._suppressOnSelect = suppressSelect;
               // XXX actually it's just a refresh, but at least
