Index: wp-admin/includes/plugin.php
===================================================================
--- wp-admin/includes/plugin.php	(revision 10927)
+++ wp-admin/includes/plugin.php	(working copy)
@@ -102,6 +102,74 @@
 	return $plugin_data;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Parse the plugin readme.txt file to retrieve plugin's metadata.
+ *
+ * The metadata of the plugin's readme searches for the following in the readme.txt
+ * header. All metadata must be on its own line. The below is formatted for printing.
+ *
+ * <code>
+ * Contributors: contributors nicknames, comma delimited
+ * Donate link: Link to plugin donate page
+ * Tags: Plugin tags, comma delimited
+ * Requires at least: Minimum WordPress version required
+ * Tested up to: Higher WordPress version the plugin has been tested.
+ * Stable tag: Latest stable tag in repository.
+ * </code>
+ * 
+ * Readme data returned array cointains the following:
+ * 		- 'Contributors' - An array with all contributors nicknames.
+ * 		- 'Tags' - An array with all plugin tags.
+ * 		- 'DonateURI' - The donations page address.
+ *      - 'Required' - Minimum required WordPress version.
+ *      - 'Tested' - Higher WordPress version this plugin has been tested.
+ *      - 'Stable' - Last stable tag when this was released.
+ *      
+ * The first 8kiB of the file will be pulled in and if the readme data is not
+ * within that first 8kiB, then the plugin author should correct their plugin
+ * and move the plugin data headers to the top.
+ *
+ * The readme file is assumed to have permissions to allow for scripts to read
+ * the file. This is not checked however and the file is only opened for
+ * reading.
+ *
+ * @param string $plugin_file Path to the plugin file (not the readme file)
+ * @return array See above for description.
+ */
+function get_plugin_readme_data( $plugin_file ) {
+	
+	$file = dirname($plugin_file) . '/readme.txt';
+	
+	$fp = fopen($file, 'r');	// Open just for reading.
+	$data = fread( $fp, 8192 );	// Pull the first 8kiB of the file in.
+	fclose($fp);				// Close the file.	
+
+	preg_match( '|Contributors:(.*)$|mi', $data, $contributors );
+	preg_match( '|Donate link:(.*)$|mi', $data, $uri );
+	preg_match( '|Tags:(.*)|i', $data, $tags );
+	preg_match( '|Requires at least:(.*)$|mi', $data, $required );
+	preg_match( '|Tested up to:(.*)$|mi', $data, $tested );
+	preg_match( '|Stable tag:(.*)$|mi', $data, $stable );
+
+	foreach ( array( 'contributors', 'uri', 'tags', 'required', 'tested', 'stable' ) as $field ) {
+		if ( !empty( ${$field} ) ) {
+			${$field} = trim(${$field}[1]);
+		} else {
+			${$field} = '';
+		}
+	}
+
+	$readme_data = array(	
+		'Contributors' => array_map('trim', explode(',', $contributors)),
+		'Tags' => array_map('trim', explode(',', $tags)),
+		'DonateURI' => trim($uri),
+		'Requires' => trim($required),
+		'Tested' => trim($tested),
+		'Stable' => trim($stable) );
+
+	return $readme_data;
+}
+
 function _get_plugin_data_markup_translate($plugin_data, $markup = true, $translate = true) {
 
 	//Translate fields