Index: Doc/library/pkgutil.rst
===================================================================
--- Doc/library/pkgutil.rst	(revision 61679)
+++ Doc/library/pkgutil.rst	(working copy)
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 
 .. versionadded:: 2.3
 
-This module provides a single function:
+This module provides functions to manipulate packages:
 
 
 .. function:: extend_path(path, name)
@@ -41,3 +41,24 @@
    this function to raise an exception (in line with :func:`os.path.isdir`
    behavior).
 
+.. function:: get_data(package, resource)
+
+   Get a resource from a package.
+
+   This is a wrapper round the PEP 302 loader :func:`get_data` API. The package
+   argument should be the name of a package, in standard module format
+   (foo.bar). The resource argument should be in the form of a relative
+   filename, using ``/`` as the path separator. The parent directory name
+   ``..`` is not allowed, and nor is a rooted name (starting with a ``/``).
+
+   The function returns a binary string, which is the contents of the
+   specified resource.
+
+   For packages located in the filesystem, which have already been imported,
+   this is the rough equivalent of::
+
+       d = os.path.dirname(sys.modules[package].__file__)
+       data = open(os.path.join(d, resource), 'rb').read()
+
+   If the package cannot be located or loaded, or it uses a PEP 302 loader
+   which does not support :func:`get_data`, then None is returned.
Index: Lib/test/test_pkgutil.py
===================================================================
--- Lib/test/test_pkgutil.py	(revision 0)
+++ Lib/test/test_pkgutil.py	(revision 0)
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+from test.test_support import run_unittest
+import unittest
+import sys
+import imp
+import pkgutil
+
+class MyTestLoader(object):
+    def load_module(self, fullname):
+        # Create an empty module
+        mod = sys.modules.setdefault(fullname, imp.new_module(fullname))
+        mod.__file__ = "<%s>" % self.__class__.__name__
+        mod.__loader__ = self
+        # Make it a package
+        mod.__path__ = []
+        return mod
+
+    def get_data(self, path):
+        return "Hello, world!"
+
+class MyTestImporter(object):
+    def find_module(self, fullname, path=None):
+        return MyTestLoader()
+
+class PkgutilTests(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_getdata_filesys(self):
+        # Grab this file
+        this_file = pkgutil.get_data('test', 'test_pkgutil.py')
+        self.assert_('PkgutilTests' in this_file)
+    def test_getdata_pep302(self):
+        # Use a dummy importer/loader
+        sys.meta_path.insert(0, MyTestImporter())
+        self.assertEqual(pkgutil.get_data('foo', 'dummy'), "Hello, world!")
+        del sys.modules['foo']
+        del sys.meta_path[0]
+
+def test_main():
+    run_unittest(PkgutilTests)
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    test_main()
+
Index: Lib/pkgutil.py
===================================================================
--- Lib/pkgutil.py	(revision 61679)
+++ Lib/pkgutil.py	(working copy)
@@ -544,3 +544,40 @@
                 f.close()
 
     return path
+
+def get_data(package, resource):
+    """Get a resource from a package.
+
+    This is a wrapper round the PEP 302 loader get_data API. The package
+    argument should be the name of a package, in standard module format
+    (foo.bar). The resource argument should be in the form of a relative
+    filename, using '/' as the path separator. The parent directory name '..'
+    is not allowed, and nor is a rooted name (starting with a '/').
+
+    The function returns a binary string, which is the contents of the
+    specified resource.
+
+    For packages located in the filesystem, which have already been imported,
+    this is the rough equivalent of
+
+        d = os.path.dirname(sys.modules[package].__file__)
+        data = open(os.path.join(d, resource), 'rb').read()
+
+    If the package cannot be located or loaded, or it uses a PEP 302 loader
+    which does not support get_data(), then None is returned.
+    """
+
+    loader = get_loader(package)
+    if loader is None or not hasattr(loader, 'get_data'):
+        return None
+    mod = loader.load_module(package)
+    if mod is None or not hasattr(mod, '__file__'):
+        return None
+
+    # Modify the resource name to be compatible with the loader.get_data
+    # signature - an os.path format "filename" starting with the dirname of
+    # the package's __file__
+    parts = resource.split('/')
+    parts.insert(0, os.path.dirname(mod.__file__))
+    resource_name = os.path.join(*parts)
+    return loader.get_data(resource_name)