diff --git a/includes/common.inc b/includes/common.inc
index da8996a..37303b6 100644
--- a/includes/common.inc
+++ b/includes/common.inc
@@ -237,8 +237,15 @@ function drupal_get_profile() {
  * Sets the breadcrumb trail for the current page.
  *
  * @param $breadcrumb
- *   Array of links, starting with "home" and proceeding up to but not including
+ *   Array of links (deprecated implementation) or of keyed arrays containing data
+ *   for each breadcrumb item,
+ *   starting with "home" and proceeding up to but not including
  *   the current page.
+ *   In the new implementation, each item contains:
+ *   - title: The item's title (parent title);
+ *   - url: The item's url (parent href);
+ *   - options: Options for passing into the l() function.
+ *
  */
 function drupal_set_breadcrumb($breadcrumb = NULL) {
   $stored_breadcrumb = &drupal_static(__FUNCTION__);
@@ -246,17 +253,28 @@ function drupal_set_breadcrumb($breadcrumb = NULL) {
   if (isset($breadcrumb)) {
     $stored_breadcrumb = $breadcrumb;
   }
+
   return $stored_breadcrumb;
 }
 
 /**
  * Gets the breadcrumb trail for the current page.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *   Array of links (deprecated implementation) or of keyed arrays containing data
+ *   for each breadcrumb item,
+ *   starting with "home" and proceeding up to but not including
+ *   the current page.
+ *   In the new implementation, each item contains:
+ *   - title: The item's title (parent title);
+ *   - url: The item's url (parent href);
+ *   - options: Options for passing into the l() function.
  */
 function drupal_get_breadcrumb() {
   $breadcrumb = drupal_set_breadcrumb();
 
   if (!isset($breadcrumb)) {
-    $breadcrumb = menu_get_active_breadcrumb();
+    $breadcrumb = menu_get_active_breadcrumb_items();
   }
 
   return $breadcrumb;
@@ -6928,7 +6946,7 @@ function drupal_common_theme() {
       'variables' => array('path' => NULL, 'width' => NULL, 'height' => NULL, 'alt' => '', 'title' => NULL, 'attributes' => array()),
     ),
     'breadcrumb' => array(
-      'variables' => array('breadcrumb' => NULL),
+      'variables' => array('breadcrumb' => NULL, 'separator' => ' » '),
     ),
     'help' => array(
       'variables' => array(),
diff --git a/includes/menu.inc b/includes/menu.inc
index 4664d27..488ca63 100644
--- a/includes/menu.inc
+++ b/includes/menu.inc
@@ -2569,14 +2569,53 @@ function menu_get_active_trail() {
 /**
  * Gets the breadcrumb for the current page, as determined by the active trail.
  *
- * @see menu_set_active_trail()
+ * @see menu_get_active_breadcrumb_items()
+ *
+ * @deprecated menu_get_active_breadcrumb_items is designed to replace it
+ *   as it offers more flexibility for the theming.
  */
 function menu_get_active_breadcrumb() {
+  $breadcrumb_items = menu_get_active_breadcrumb_items();
+
+  if (!$breadcrumb_items) {
+    return $breadcrumb_items;
+  }
+
   $breadcrumb = array();
 
-  // No breadcrumb for the front page.
-  if (drupal_is_front_page()) {
-    return $breadcrumb;
+  foreach ($breadcrumb_items as $breadcrumb_item) {
+    $breadcrumb[] = l(
+      $breadcrumb_item['title'],
+      $breadcrumb_item['url'],
+      $breadcrumb_item['options']
+    );
+  }
+
+  return $breadcrumb;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Gets data of each breadcrumb item for the current page.
+ *
+ * They are determined by the active trail.
+ *
+ * @return array
+ *   Breadcrumb items' data for the current page as array of item information.
+ *   each breadcrumb item is an associative array with the following
+ *   components:
+ *   - title: The item's title (parent title);
+ *   - url: The item's url (parent href);
+ *   - options: Options for passing into the l() function.
+ *
+ * @see menu_set_active_trail()
+ */
+function menu_get_active_breadcrumb_items() {
+  $breadcrumb_items = &drupal_static(__FUNCTION__);
+
+
+  // No breadcrumb for the front page or already set in the static variable.
+  if (drupal_is_front_page() || !empty($breadcrumb_items)) {
+    return $breadcrumb_items;
   }
 
   $item = menu_get_item();
@@ -2611,10 +2650,15 @@ function menu_get_active_breadcrumb() {
     }
 
     foreach ($active_trail as $parent) {
-      $breadcrumb[] = l($parent['title'], $parent['href'], $parent['localized_options']);
+      $breadcrumb_items[] = array(
+        'title' => $parent['title'],
+        'url' => $parent['href'],
+        'options' => $parent['localized_options'],
+      );
     }
   }
-  return $breadcrumb;
+
+  return $breadcrumb_items;
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/includes/theme.inc b/includes/theme.inc
index 9b606e9..de30860 100644
--- a/includes/theme.inc
+++ b/includes/theme.inc
@@ -1893,7 +1893,9 @@ function theme_image($variables) {
  *
  * @param $variables
  *   An associative array containing:
- *   - breadcrumb: An array containing the breadcrumb links.
+ *   - breadcrumb: An array containing either the breadcrumb
+ *     links (deprecated), or an array of keyed array with
+ *     breadcrumb item's data for building links.
  */
 function theme_breadcrumb($variables) {
   $breadcrumb = $variables['breadcrumb'];
@@ -1903,7 +1905,29 @@ function theme_breadcrumb($variables) {
     // screen-reader users. Make the heading invisible with .element-invisible.
     $output = '<h2 class="element-invisible">' . t('You are here') . '</h2>';
 
-    $output .= '<div class="breadcrumb">' . implode(' » ', $breadcrumb) . '</div>';
+    $output .= '<div class="breadcrumb">';
+    $items = array();
+    foreach ($breadcrumb as $breadcrumb_item) {
+      if (is_array($breadcrumb_item)) {
+        // Building the display of link.
+        // Use of l() function for performance reasons (see comments inside the
+        // l() function.
+        $items[] = l(
+          $breadcrumb_item['title'],
+          $breadcrumb_item['url'],
+          $breadcrumb_item['options']
+        );
+      }
+      else {
+        // We keep the backward compatibility with the previous implementation
+        // in order to let modules and themes to adapt their own implementation.
+        $items[] = filter_xss($breadcrumb_item);
+      }
+    }
+    $output .= implode($variables['separator'], $items);
+
+    $output .= '</div>';
+
     return $output;
   }
 }