diff --git a/main/src/com/google/refine/expr/functions/xml/WholeText.java b/main/src/com/google/refine/expr/functions/xml/WholeText.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..61d667023
--- /dev/null
+++ b/main/src/com/google/refine/expr/functions/xml/WholeText.java
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+/*
+
+Copyright 2010,2011 Google Inc.
+All rights reserved.
+
+Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
+modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are
+met:
+
+    * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
+notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
+    * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above
+copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer
+in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the
+distribution.
+    * Neither the name of Google Inc. nor the names of its
+contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from
+this software without specific prior written permission.
+
+THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
+"AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
+LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR
+A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT
+OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
+SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT
+LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,
+DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY
+THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
+(INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE
+OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
+
+*/
+
+package com.google.refine.expr.functions.xml;
+
+import java.util.Properties;
+
+import org.jsoup.nodes.Element;
+
+import com.google.refine.expr.EvalError;
+import com.google.refine.grel.ControlFunctionRegistry;
+import com.google.refine.grel.Function;
+
+public class WholeText implements Function {
+
+    @Override
+    public Object call(Properties bindings, Object[] args) {
+        if (args.length == 1) {
+            Object o1 = args[0];
+            if (o1 != null && o1 instanceof Element) {
+                Element e1 = (Element)o1;
+                return e1.wholeText();
+
+            }else{
+                return new EvalError(ControlFunctionRegistry.getFunctionName(this) + " failed as the first parameter is not an XML or HTML Element.  Please first use parseXml() or parseHtml() and select(query) prior to using this function");
+            }
+        }
+        return new EvalError(ControlFunctionRegistry.getFunctionName(this) + " expects a single XML or HTML element as an argument");
+    }
+
+
+    @Override
+    public String getDescription() {
+        return "Selects the (unencoded) text of an element and its children, including any newlines and spaces, and returns unencoded, un-normalized text";
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    public String getParams() {
+        return "Element e";
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    public String getReturns() {
+        return "String text";
+    }
+}
diff --git a/main/src/com/google/refine/grel/ControlFunctionRegistry.java b/main/src/com/google/refine/grel/ControlFunctionRegistry.java
index 3a6502ba1..fb66b9fea 100644
--- a/main/src/com/google/refine/grel/ControlFunctionRegistry.java
+++ b/main/src/com/google/refine/grel/ControlFunctionRegistry.java
@@ -137,6 +137,7 @@ import com.google.refine.expr.functions.xml.InnerXml;
 import com.google.refine.expr.functions.xml.OwnText;
 import com.google.refine.expr.functions.xml.ParseXml;
 import com.google.refine.expr.functions.xml.SelectXml;
+import com.google.refine.expr.functions.xml.WholeText;
 import com.google.refine.expr.functions.xml.XmlAttr;
 import com.google.refine.expr.functions.xml.XmlText;
 import com.google.refine.grel.controls.Filter;
@@ -256,6 +257,7 @@ public class ControlFunctionRegistry {
         registerFunction("innerXml", new InnerXml());
         registerFunction("innerHtml", new InnerHtml());
         registerFunction("ownText", new OwnText());
+        registerFunction("wholeText", new WholeText());
 
         registerFunction("indexOf", new IndexOf());
         registerFunction("lastIndexOf", new LastIndexOf());
diff --git a/main/tests/server/src/com/google/refine/expr/functions/html/ParseHtmlTests.java b/main/tests/server/src/com/google/refine/expr/functions/html/ParseHtmlTests.java
index d81a78b39..7b403b08e 100644
--- a/main/tests/server/src/com/google/refine/expr/functions/html/ParseHtmlTests.java
+++ b/main/tests/server/src/com/google/refine/expr/functions/html/ParseHtmlTests.java
@@ -51,6 +51,13 @@ public class ParseHtmlTests extends RefineTest  {
                         "            <p>para1 <strong>strong text</strong></p>\n" +
                         "            <p>para2</p>\n" +
                         "        </div>\n" +
+                        "        <div class=\"commentthread_comment_text\" id=\"comment_content_257769\">\n" +
+                                 "  Me : Make a 2nd game ?\n" +
+                                 " <br>Dev : Nah man , too much work.\n" +
+                                 " <br>Me : So what's it gonna be ?\n" +
+                                 " <br>Dev : REMASTER !!!!\n" +
+                                 " <br>" +
+                                 "</div>" +
                         "    </body>\n" +
                         "</html>";
     
@@ -76,6 +83,8 @@ public class ParseHtmlTests extends RefineTest  {
         Assert.assertEquals(invoke("htmlAttr",Jsoup.parse(h).select("div").first(),"class"),"class1");
         Assert.assertEquals(invoke("htmlText",Jsoup.parse(h).select("div").first()),"para1 strong text para2");
         Assert.assertEquals(invoke("ownText",Jsoup.parse(h).select("p").first()),"para1");
+        Assert.assertTrue(invoke("wholeText",Jsoup.parse(h).select("div.commentthread_comment_text").first()) instanceof String);
+        Assert.assertEquals(invoke("wholeText",Jsoup.parse(h).select("div.commentthread_comment_text").first()),"\n  Me : Make a 2nd game ?\n Dev : Nah man , too much work.\n Me : So what's it gonna be ?\n Dev : REMASTER !!!!\n ");
     }
 }