diff --git a/src/calibre/ebooks/metadata/sources/identify.py b/src/calibre/ebooks/metadata/sources/identify.py
index 529c3402c2..5a64c84bbd 100644
--- a/src/calibre/ebooks/metadata/sources/identify.py
+++ b/src/calibre/ebooks/metadata/sources/identify.py
@@ -393,6 +393,10 @@ def identify(log, abort,  # {{{
     log('The log from individual plugins is below')
 
     workers = [Worker(p, kwargs, abort) for p in plugins]
+    # Ensure Browser is imported to workaround threading bugs in zipimport on
+    # Windows
+    from calibre import browser
+    browser()
     for w in workers:
         w.start()