diff --git a/lib/core_extensions.rb b/lib/core_extensions.rb
index cf7a85e..61b292c 100644
--- a/lib/core_extensions.rb
+++ b/lib/core_extensions.rb
@@ -81,213 +81,6 @@ class String #:nodoc:
   end unless method_defined?(:blank?)
 end # class String
 
-require 'rexml/parsers/streamparser'
-require 'rexml/parsers/baseparser'
-require 'rexml/light/node'
-require "rexml/document"
-
-# This is a slighly modified version of the XMLUtilityNode from
-# http://merb.devjavu.com/projects/merb/ticket/95 (has.sox@gmail.com)
-# It's mainly just adding vowels, as I ht cd wth n vwls :)
-# This represents the hard part of the work, all I did was change the
-# underlying parser.
-class REXMLUtilityNode #:nodoc:
-  attr_accessor :name, :attributes, :children, :type
-  
-  def self.typecasts
-    @@typecasts
-  end
-  
-  def self.typecasts=(obj)
-    @@typecasts = obj
-  end
-  
-  def self.available_typecasts
-    @@available_typecasts
-  end
-  
-  def self.available_typecasts=(obj)
-    @@available_typecasts = obj
-  end
-
-  self.typecasts = {}
-  self.typecasts["integer"]       = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : v.to_i}
-  self.typecasts["boolean"]       = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : (v.strip != "false")}
-  self.typecasts["datetime"]      = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : Time.parse(v).utc}
-  self.typecasts["date"]          = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : Date.parse(v)}
-  self.typecasts["dateTime"]      = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : Time.parse(v).utc}
-  self.typecasts["decimal"]       = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : BigDecimal(v.to_s)}
-  self.typecasts["double"]        = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : v.to_f}
-  self.typecasts["float"]         = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : v.to_f}
-  self.typecasts["symbol"]        = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : v.to_sym}
-  self.typecasts["string"]        = lambda{|v| v.to_s}
-  self.typecasts["yaml"]          = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : YAML.load(v)}
-  self.typecasts["base64Binary"]  = lambda{|v| v.unpack('m').first }
-
-  self.available_typecasts = self.typecasts.keys
-
-  def initialize(name, attributes = {})
-    @name         = name.tr("-", "_")
-    # leave the type alone if we don't know what it is
-    @type         = self.class.available_typecasts.include?(attributes["type"]) ? attributes.delete("type") : attributes["type"]
-
-    @nil_element  = attributes.delete("nil") == "true"
-    @attributes   = undasherize_keys(attributes)
-    @children     = []
-    @text         = false
-  end
-
-  def add_node(node)
-    @text = true if node.is_a? String
-    @children << node
-  end
-
-  def to_hash
-    if @type == "file"
-      f = StringIO.new((@children.first || '').unpack('m').first)
-      class << f
-        attr_accessor :original_filename, :content_type
-      end
-      f.original_filename = attributes['name'] || 'untitled'
-      f.content_type = attributes['content_type'] || 'application/octet-stream'
-      return {name => f}
-    end
-
-    if @text
-      return { name => typecast_value( translate_xml_entities( inner_html ) ) }
-    else
-      #change repeating groups into an array
-      groups = @children.inject({}) { |s,e| (s[e.name] ||= []) << e; s }
-
-      out = nil
-      if @type == "array"
-        out = []
-        groups.each do |k, v|
-          if v.size == 1
-            out << v.first.to_hash.entries.first.last
-          else
-            out << v.map{|e| e.to_hash[k]}
-          end
-        end
-        out = out.flatten
-
-      else # If Hash
-        out = {}
-        groups.each do |k,v|
-          if v.size == 1
-            out.merge!(v.first)
-          else
-            out.merge!( k => v.map{|e| e.to_hash[k]})
-          end
-        end
-        out.merge! attributes unless attributes.empty?
-        out = out.empty? ? nil : out
-      end
-
-      if @type && out.nil?
-        { name => typecast_value(out) }
-      else
-        { name => out }
-      end
-    end
-  end
-
-  # Typecasts a value based upon its type. For instance, if
-  # +node+ has #type == "integer",
-  # {{[node.typecast_value("12") #=> 12]}}
-  #
-  # @param value<String> The value that is being typecast.
-  #
-  # @details [:type options]
-  #   "integer"::
-  #     converts +value+ to an integer with #to_i
-  #   "boolean"::
-  #     checks whether +value+, after removing spaces, is the literal
-  #     "true"
-  #   "datetime"::
-  #     Parses +value+ using Time.parse, and returns a UTC Time
-  #   "date"::
-  #     Parses +value+ using Date.parse
-  #
-  # @return <Integer, TrueClass, FalseClass, Time, Date, Object>
-  #   The result of typecasting +value+.
-  #
-  # @note
-  #   If +self+ does not have a "type" key, or if it's not one of the
-  #   options specified above, the raw +value+ will be returned.
-  def typecast_value(value)
-    return value unless @type
-    proc = self.class.typecasts[@type]
-    proc.nil? ? value : proc.call(value)
-  end
-
-  # Convert basic XML entities into their literal values.
-  #
-  # @param value<#gsub> An XML fragment.
-  #
-  # @return <#gsub> The XML fragment after converting entities.
-  def translate_xml_entities(value)
-    value.gsub(/&lt;/,   "<").
-          gsub(/&gt;/,   ">").
-          gsub(/&quot;/, '"').
-          gsub(/&apos;/, "'").
-          gsub(/&amp;/,  "&")
-  end
-
-  # Take keys of the form foo-bar and convert them to foo_bar
-  def undasherize_keys(params)
-    params.keys.each do |key, value|
-      params[key.tr("-", "_")] = params.delete(key)
-    end
-    params
-  end
-
-  # Get the inner_html of the REXML node.
-  def inner_html
-    @children.join
-  end
-
-  # Converts the node into a readable HTML node.
-  #
-  # @return <String> The HTML node in text form.
-  def to_html
-    attributes.merge!(:type => @type ) if @type
-    "<#{name}#{attributes.to_xml_attributes}>#{@nil_element ? '' : inner_html}</#{name}>"
-  end
-
-  # @alias #to_html #to_s
-  def to_s
-    to_html
-  end
-end
-
-class ToHashParser #:nodoc:
-  def self.from_xml(xml)
-    stack = []
-    parser = REXML::Parsers::BaseParser.new(xml)
-
-    while true
-      event = parser.pull
-      case event[0]
-      when :end_document
-        break
-      when :end_doctype, :start_doctype
-        # do nothing
-      when :start_element
-        stack.push REXMLUtilityNode.new(event[1], event[2])
-      when :end_element
-        if stack.size > 1
-          temp = stack.pop
-          stack.last.add_node(temp)
-        end
-      when :text, :cdata
-        stack.last.add_node(event[1]) unless event[1].strip.length == 0 || stack.empty?
-      end
-    end
-    stack.pop.to_hash
-  end
-end
-
 class Hash #:nodoc:
   # @return <String> This hash as a query string
   #
@@ -354,6 +147,7 @@ class BlankSlate #:nodoc:
 end
 
 # 1.8.6 has mistyping of transitive in if statement
+require "rexml/document"
 module REXML #:nodoc:
   class Document < Element #:nodoc:
     def write( output=$stdout, indent=-1, transitive=false, ie_hack=false )
diff --git a/lib/httparty.rb b/lib/httparty.rb
index 0c4dbad..f269be9 100644
--- a/lib/httparty.rb
+++ b/lib/httparty.rb
@@ -133,4 +133,5 @@ require 'httparty/exceptions'
 require 'httparty/request'
 require 'httparty/response'
 require 'httparty/json'
+require 'httparty/xml'
 require 'httparty/cookie_hash'
diff --git a/lib/httparty/request.rb b/lib/httparty/request.rb
index ca3bf7a..9930ba5 100644
--- a/lib/httparty/request.rb
+++ b/lib/httparty/request.rb
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ module HTTParty
         return nil if body.nil? or body.empty?
         case format
           when :xml
-            ToHashParser.from_xml(body)
+            HTTParty::XML.parse(body)
           when :json
             HTTParty::JSON.decode(body)
           else
diff --git a/lib/httparty/xml.rb b/lib/httparty/xml.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..088b029
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/httparty/xml.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,207 @@
+require 'rexml/parsers/streamparser'
+require 'rexml/parsers/baseparser'
+require 'rexml/light/node'
+
+# This is a slighly modified version of the XMLUtilityNode from
+# http://merb.devjavu.com/projects/merb/ticket/95 (has.sox@gmail.com)
+# It's mainly just adding vowels, as I ht cd wth n vwls :)
+# This represents the hard part of the work, all I did was change the
+# underlying parser.
+class REXMLUtilityNode #:nodoc:
+  attr_accessor :name, :attributes, :children, :type
+
+  def self.typecasts
+    @@typecasts
+  end
+
+  def self.typecasts=(obj)
+    @@typecasts = obj
+  end
+
+  def self.available_typecasts
+    @@available_typecasts
+  end
+
+  def self.available_typecasts=(obj)
+    @@available_typecasts = obj
+  end
+
+  self.typecasts = {}
+  self.typecasts["integer"]       = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : v.to_i}
+  self.typecasts["boolean"]       = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : (v.strip != "false")}
+  self.typecasts["datetime"]      = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : Time.parse(v).utc}
+  self.typecasts["date"]          = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : Date.parse(v)}
+  self.typecasts["dateTime"]      = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : Time.parse(v).utc}
+  self.typecasts["decimal"]       = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : BigDecimal(v.to_s)}
+  self.typecasts["double"]        = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : v.to_f}
+  self.typecasts["float"]         = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : v.to_f}
+  self.typecasts["symbol"]        = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : v.to_sym}
+  self.typecasts["string"]        = lambda{|v| v.to_s}
+  self.typecasts["yaml"]          = lambda{|v| v.nil? ? nil : YAML.load(v)}
+  self.typecasts["base64Binary"]  = lambda{|v| v.unpack('m').first }
+
+  self.available_typecasts = self.typecasts.keys
+
+  def initialize(name, attributes = {})
+    @name         = name.tr("-", "_")
+    # leave the type alone if we don't know what it is
+    @type         = self.class.available_typecasts.include?(attributes["type"]) ? attributes.delete("type") : attributes["type"]
+
+    @nil_element  = attributes.delete("nil") == "true"
+    @attributes   = undasherize_keys(attributes)
+    @children     = []
+    @text         = false
+  end
+
+  def add_node(node)
+    @text = true if node.is_a? String
+    @children << node
+  end
+
+  def to_hash
+    if @type == "file"
+      f = StringIO.new((@children.first || '').unpack('m').first)
+      class << f
+        attr_accessor :original_filename, :content_type
+      end
+      f.original_filename = attributes['name'] || 'untitled'
+      f.content_type = attributes['content_type'] || 'application/octet-stream'
+      return {name => f}
+    end
+
+    if @text
+      return { name => typecast_value( translate_xml_entities( inner_html ) ) }
+    else
+      #change repeating groups into an array
+      groups = @children.inject({}) { |s,e| (s[e.name] ||= []) << e; s }
+
+      out = nil
+      if @type == "array"
+        out = []
+        groups.each do |k, v|
+          if v.size == 1
+            out << v.first.to_hash.entries.first.last
+          else
+            out << v.map{|e| e.to_hash[k]}
+          end
+        end
+        out = out.flatten
+
+      else # If Hash
+        out = {}
+        groups.each do |k,v|
+          if v.size == 1
+            out.merge!(v.first)
+          else
+            out.merge!( k => v.map{|e| e.to_hash[k]})
+          end
+        end
+        out.merge! attributes unless attributes.empty?
+        out = out.empty? ? nil : out
+      end
+
+      if @type && out.nil?
+        { name => typecast_value(out) }
+      else
+        { name => out }
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  # Typecasts a value based upon its type. For instance, if
+  # +node+ has #type == "integer",
+  # {{[node.typecast_value("12") #=> 12]}}
+  #
+  # @param value<String> The value that is being typecast.
+  #
+  # @details [:type options]
+  #   "integer"::
+  #     converts +value+ to an integer with #to_i
+  #   "boolean"::
+  #     checks whether +value+, after removing spaces, is the literal
+  #     "true"
+  #   "datetime"::
+  #     Parses +value+ using Time.parse, and returns a UTC Time
+  #   "date"::
+  #     Parses +value+ using Date.parse
+  #
+  # @return <Integer, TrueClass, FalseClass, Time, Date, Object>
+  #   The result of typecasting +value+.
+  #
+  # @note
+  #   If +self+ does not have a "type" key, or if it's not one of the
+  #   options specified above, the raw +value+ will be returned.
+  def typecast_value(value)
+    return value unless @type
+    proc = self.class.typecasts[@type]
+    proc.nil? ? value : proc.call(value)
+  end
+
+  # Convert basic XML entities into their literal values.
+  #
+  # @param value<#gsub> An XML fragment.
+  #
+  # @return <#gsub> The XML fragment after converting entities.
+  def translate_xml_entities(value)
+    value.gsub(/&lt;/,   "<").
+          gsub(/&gt;/,   ">").
+          gsub(/&quot;/, '"').
+          gsub(/&apos;/, "'").
+          gsub(/&amp;/,  "&")
+  end
+
+  # Take keys of the form foo-bar and convert them to foo_bar
+  def undasherize_keys(params)
+    params.keys.each do |key, value|
+      params[key.tr("-", "_")] = params.delete(key)
+    end
+    params
+  end
+
+  # Get the inner_html of the REXML node.
+  def inner_html
+    @children.join
+  end
+
+  # Converts the node into a readable HTML node.
+  #
+  # @return <String> The HTML node in text form.
+  def to_html
+    attributes.merge!(:type => @type ) if @type
+    "<#{name}#{attributes.to_xml_attributes}>#{@nil_element ? '' : inner_html}</#{name}>"
+  end
+
+  # @alias #to_html #to_s
+  def to_s
+    to_html
+  end
+end
+
+module HTTParty
+  module XML    
+    def self.parse(xml)
+      stack = []
+      parser = REXML::Parsers::BaseParser.new(xml)
+
+      while true
+        event = parser.pull
+        case event[0]
+        when :end_document
+          break
+        when :end_doctype, :start_doctype
+          # do nothing
+        when :start_element
+          stack.push REXMLUtilityNode.new(event[1], event[2])
+        when :end_element
+          if stack.size > 1
+            temp = stack.pop
+            stack.last.add_node(temp)
+          end
+        when :text, :cdata
+          stack.last.add_node(event[1]) unless event[1].strip.length == 0 || stack.empty?
+        end
+      end
+      stack.pop.to_hash
+    end
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file