Index: Doc/library/zipimport.rst
===================================================================
--- Doc/library/zipimport.rst	(revision 82817)
+++ Doc/library/zipimport.rst	(working copy)
@@ -33,8 +33,6 @@
 loaded from a ZIP archive; it is unlikely that :func:`reload` would be needed,
 since this would imply that the ZIP has been altered during runtime.
 
-ZIP archives with an archive comment are currently not supported.
-
 .. seealso::
 
    `PKZIP Application Note <http://www.pkware.com/documents/casestudies/APPNOTE.TXT>`_
Index: Lib/test/test_zipimport.py
===================================================================
--- Lib/test/test_zipimport.py	(revision 82817)
+++ Lib/test/test_zipimport.py	(working copy)
@@ -92,6 +92,16 @@
                 f.write(data)
                 f.close()
 
+            comment = kw.get("comment", None)
+            if comment is not None:
+                # Append 'comment' to the end of the zipfile.
+                # Technically we should adjust the "comment size" field at the
+                # end of the zipfile, but zipimport doesn't check it anyway.
+                f = open(TEMP_ZIP, "ab")
+                f.seek(0,os.SEEK_END)
+                f.write(comment)
+                f.close()
+
             sys.path.insert(0, TEMP_ZIP)
 
             mod = __import__(".".join(modules), globals(), locals(),
@@ -320,6 +330,21 @@
         self.doTest(".py", files, TESTMOD,
                     stuff="Some Stuff"*31)
 
+    def testImport_WithComment(self):
+        # try importing from a zipfile which contains a comment
+        # at the beginning of the file
+        files = {TESTMOD + ".py": (NOW, test_src)}
+        self.doTest(".py", files, TESTMOD,
+                    comment="Some Comment"*31)
+
+    def testImport_WithStuffAndComment(self):
+        # try importing from a zipfile which contains additional
+        # stuff at the beginning of the file and an appended comment.
+        files = {TESTMOD + ".py": (NOW, test_src)}
+        self.doTest(".py", files, TESTMOD,
+                    stuff="Some Stuff"*31,
+                    comment="Some Comment"*31)
+
     def assertModuleSource(self, module):
         self.assertEqual(inspect.getsource(module), test_src)
 
Index: Modules/zipimport.c
===================================================================
--- Modules/zipimport.c	(revision 82817)
+++ Modules/zipimport.c	(working copy)
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@
 
 /* forward decls */
 static PyObject *read_directory(char *archive);
+static int find_endof_central_dir(FILE* fp,char *eocd,long *header_pos);
 static PyObject *get_data(char *archive, PyObject *toc_entry);
 static PyObject *get_module_code(ZipImporter *self, char *fullname,
                                  int *p_ispackage, char **p_modpath);
@@ -718,11 +719,14 @@
         return NULL;
     }
     if (get_long((unsigned char *)endof_central_dir) != 0x06054B50) {
-        /* Bad: End of Central Dir signature */
-        fclose(fp);
-        PyErr_Format(ZipImportError, "not a Zip file: "
-                     "'%.200s'", archive);
-        return NULL;
+        /* Bad End of Central Dir signature */
+        /* Perhaps it has an appended comment? */
+        if(find_endof_central_dir(fp,endof_central_dir,&header_position) != 0) {
+            fclose(fp);
+            PyErr_Format(ZipImportError, "not a Zip file: "
+                         "'%.200s'", archive);
+            return NULL;
+        }
     }
 
     header_size = get_long((unsigned char *)endof_central_dir + 12);
@@ -796,6 +800,82 @@
     return NULL;
 }
 
+
+/* Find the end-of-central-directory record for a zipfile with comment.
+   This reads data from the end of the zipfile in EOCD_CHUNK_SIZE chunks,
+   up to the maximum supported comment size, and searches backwards for
+   the end-of-central-directory marker. */
+
+#define EOCD_MAX_SIZE 65536
+#define EOCD_CHUNK_SIZE 1024
+
+static int find_endof_central_dir(FILE* fp,char *eocd_out,long *header_pos) {
+    long pos, size, count;
+    char *eocd;
+    char chunk[EOCD_CHUNK_SIZE + 22 + 22 + 1];
+    struct stat st;
+
+    if (fstat(fileno(fp), &st) != 0) {
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    eocd = NULL;
+    count = 1; pos = 0; size = 0;
+    while(eocd == NULL) {
+        /*  Stop search if we've grown past max comment size */
+        if(pos >= EOCD_MAX_SIZE) {
+            break;
+        }
+        /*  Stop search if we've grown past file size */
+        if(pos >= st.st_size) {
+            break;
+        }
+        pos = count*EOCD_CHUNK_SIZE + 22;
+        size = EOCD_CHUNK_SIZE + 22 + 22;
+        /*  Don't try to read past end of file  */
+        if(count == 1) {
+            size -= 22;
+        }
+        /*  Don't try to search past beginning of file */
+        if(pos > st.st_size) {
+            pos = st.st_size;
+            if(size > st.st_size) {
+                size = st.st_size;
+            }
+        }
+        /*  Don't try to search past max comment size */
+        if(pos > EOCD_MAX_SIZE + 22) {
+            pos = EOCD_MAX_SIZE + 22;
+        }
+        /*  Read the next chunk (it overlaps with previous by 22 bytes) */
+        fseek(fp, -1*pos, SEEK_END);
+        if(fread(chunk, 1, size, fp) != size) {
+            return -1;
+        }
+        /*  Search backwards looking for EOCD signature */
+        eocd = chunk + size - 4;
+        while(get_long((unsigned char *)eocd) != 0x06054B50) {
+            if(eocd == chunk) {
+                eocd = NULL;
+                break;
+            }
+            eocd -= 1;
+        }
+        count++;
+    }
+
+    if(eocd == NULL) {
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    for(count=0;count<22;count++) {
+        eocd_out[count] = eocd[count];
+    }
+    *header_pos = ftell(fp) - size + eocd - chunk;
+    return 0;
+
+}
+
 /* Return the zlib.decompress function object, or NULL if zlib couldn't
    be imported. The function is cached when found, so subsequent calls
    don't import zlib again. Returns a *borrowed* reference.