diff --git a/xml_parser.module b/xml_parser.module
index d644f46..a8f56e4 100644
--- a/xml_parser.module
+++ b/xml_parser.module
@@ -30,6 +30,35 @@ function xml_parser_load_xml($file) {
 }
 
 /**
+ * This function receives the URL to an external XML document and
+ * returns the contents of the document as a string.
+ *
+ * @param $file
+ * (string) URL to an external XML file.
+ *
+ * @return
+ * (string) The contents of the XML file as a string ready
+ * to be parsed or FALSE if the file could not be retrieved.
+ */
+function xml_parser_load_url_xml($url) {
+  $response = drupal_http_request($url);
+  // if there was an error handle it
+  if ($response->code != 200) {
+    watchdog(
+      'xml_parser',
+      t('Could not retrieve XML file from: %url', array('%url' => $url)),
+      array(),
+      WATCHDOG_ERROR
+    );
+    return FALSE;
+  }
+  else {
+    $str = $response->data;
+    return $str;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
  * This function receives the path to an XML document and 
  * returns the contents of the document as an array.
  *