diff --git a/Doc/library/ssl.rst b/Doc/library/ssl.rst
index 8ac7e26..8441eff 100644
--- a/Doc/library/ssl.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/ssl.rst
@@ -1,12 +1,16 @@
 
-:mod:`ssl` --- SSL wrapper for socket objects, and utility functions
+:mod:`ssl` --- SSL wrapper for socket objects
 ====================================================================
 
 .. module:: ssl
-   :synopsis: SSL wrapper for socket objects, and utility functions
+   :synopsis: SSL wrapper for socket objects
+
+.. moduleauthor:: Bill Janssen <bill.janssen@gmail.com>
 
 .. versionadded:: 2.6
 
+.. sectionauthor::  Bill Janssen <bill.janssen@gmail.com>
+
 
 This module provides access to Transport Layer Security (often known
 as "Secure Sockets Layer") encryption and peer authentication
@@ -20,10 +24,9 @@
    Some behavior may be platform dependent, since calls are made to the operating
    system socket APIs.
 
-This section documents the objects and functions in the `ssl` module;
+This section documents the objects and functions in the ``ssl`` module;
 for more general information about TLS, SSL, and certificates, the
-reader is referred to the paper, *Introducing SSL and Certificates using OpenSSL*, by Frederick J. Hirsch, at
-http://old.pseudonym.org/ssl/wwwj-index.html.
+reader is referred to the documents in the :ref:`ssl-references` section.
 
 This module defines a class, :class:`ssl.sslsocket`, which is
 derived from the :class:`socket.socket` type, and supports additional
@@ -57,25 +60,25 @@
 
 .. data:: CERT_NONE
 
-   Value to pass to the `cert_reqs` parameter to :func:`sslobject`
+   Value to pass to the ``cert_reqs`` parameter to :func:`sslobject`
    when no certificates will be required or validated from the other
    side of the socket connection.
 
 .. data:: CERT_OPTIONAL
 
-   Value to pass to the `cert_reqs` parameter to :func:`sslobject`
+   Value to pass to the ``cert_reqs`` parameter to :func:`sslobject`
    when no certificates will be required from the other side of the
    socket connection, but if they are provided, will be validated.
    Note that use of this setting requires a valid certificate
-   validation file also be passed as a value of the `ca_certs`
+   validation file also be passed as a value of the ``ca_certs``
    parameter.
 
 .. data:: CERT_REQUIRED
 
-   Value to pass to the `cert_reqs` parameter to :func:`sslobject`
+   Value to pass to the ``cert_reqs`` parameter to :func:`sslobject`
    when certificates will be required from the other side of the
    socket connection.  Note that use of this setting requires a valid certificate
-   validation file also be passed as a value of the `ca_certs`
+   validation file also be passed as a value of the ``ca_certs``
    parameter.
 
 .. data:: PROTOCOL_SSLv2
@@ -99,10 +102,12 @@
    protection, if both sides can speak it.
 
 
+.. _ssl-certificates:
+
 Certificates
 ------------
 
-Certificates in general are part of a public-key / private-key system.  In this system, each `principal`,
+Certificates in general are part of a public-key / private-key system.  In this system, each *principal*,
 (which may be a machine, or a person, or an organization) is assigned a unique two-part encryption key.
 One part of the key is public, and is called the *public key*; the other part is kept secret, and is called
 the *private key*.  The two parts are related, in that if you encrypt a message with one of the parts, you can
@@ -120,17 +125,54 @@
 time period over which it is valid.  This is expressed as two fields,
 called "notBefore" and "notAfter".
 
-The underlying system which is used in the Python SSL support is
-called "OpenSSL".  It contains facilities for constructing and
-validating certificates.  In the Python use of certificates, the other
-side of a network connection can be required to produce a certificate,
-and that certificate can be validated against a file filled with
-self-signed *root* certificates (so-called because the issuer is the
-same as the subject), and and "CA" (certification authority)
-certificates assured by those root certificates (and by other CA
-certificates).  Either side of a connection, client or server, can
-request certificates and validation, and the connection can be optionally
-set up to fail if a valid certificate is not presented by the other side.
+In the Python use of certificates, a client or server
+can use a certificate to prove who they are.  The other
+side of a network connection can also be required to produce a certificate,
+and that certificate can be validated to the satisfaction
+of the client or server that requires such validation.
+The connection can be set to fail automatically if such
+validation is not achieved.
+
+Python uses files to contain certificates.  They should be formatted
+as "PEM" (see :rfc:`1422`), which is a base-64 encoded form wrapped
+with a header line and a footer line::
+
+      -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
+      ... (certificate in base64 PEM encoding) ...
+      -----END CERTIFICATE-----
+
+The Python files which contain certificates can contain a sequence
+of certificates, sometimes called a *certificate chain*.  This chain
+should start with the specific certificate for the principal who "is"
+the client or server, and then the certificate for the issuer of that
+certificate, and then the certificate for the issuer of *that* certificate,
+and so on up the chain till you get to a certificate which is *self-signed*,
+that is, a certificate which has the same subject and issuer, 
+sometimes called a *root certificate*.  The certificates should just
+be concatenated together in the certificate file.  For example, suppose
+we had a three certificate chain, from our server certificate to the
+certificate of the certification authority that signed our server certificate,
+to the root certificate of the agency which issued the certification authority's
+certificate::
+
+      -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
+      ... (certificate for your server)...
+      -----END CERTIFICATE-----
+      -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
+      ... (the certificate for the CA)...
+      -----END CERTIFICATE-----
+      -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
+      ... (the root certificate for the CA's issuer)...
+      -----END CERTIFICATE-----
+
+If you are going to require validation of the other side of the connection's
+certificate, you need to provide a "CA certs" file, filled with the certificate
+chains for each issuer you are willing to trust.  Again, this file just
+contains these chains concatenated together.  For validation, Python will
+use the first chain it finds in the file which matches.
+Some "standard" root certificates are available at
+http://www.thawte.com/roots/  (for Thawte roots) and
+http://www.verisign.com/support/roots.html  (for Verisign roots).
 
 
 sslsocket Objects
@@ -138,76 +180,67 @@
 
 .. class:: sslsocket(sock [, keyfile=None, certfile=None, server_side=False, cert_reqs=CERT_NONE, ssl_version=PROTOCOL_SSLv23, ca_certs=None])
 
-   Takes an instance *sock* of :class:`socket.socket`, and returns an instance of a subtype
+   Takes an instance ``sock`` of :class:`socket.socket`, and returns an instance of a subtype
    of :class:`socket.socket` which wraps the underlying socket in an SSL context.
    For client-side sockets, the context construction is lazy; if the underlying socket isn't
    connected yet, the context construction will be performed after :meth:`connect` is called
    on the socket.
 
-   The `keyfile` and `certfile` parameters specify optional files which contain a certificate
-   to be used to identify the local side of the connection.  Often the private key is stored
-   in the same file as the certificate; in this case, only the `certfile` parameter need be
-   passed.  If the private key is stored in a separate file, both parameters must be used.
+   The ``keyfile`` and ``certfile`` parameters specify optional files which contain a certificate
+   to be used to identify the local side of the connection.  See the above discussion of :ref:`ssl-certificates`
+   for more information on how the certificate is stored in the ``certfile``.
 
-   The parameter `server_side` is a boolean which identifies whether server-side or client-side
+   Often the private key is stored
+   in the same file as the certificate; in this case, only the ``certfile`` parameter need be
+   passed.  If the private key is stored in a separate file, both parameters must be used.
+   If the private key is stored in the ``certfile``, it should come before the first certificate
+   in the certificate chain::
+
+      -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
+      ... (private key in base64 encoding) ...
+      -----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
+      -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
+      ... (certificate in base64 PEM encoding) ...
+      -----END CERTIFICATE-----
+
+   The parameter ``server_side`` is a boolean which identifies whether server-side or client-side
    behavior is desired from this socket.
 
-   The parameter `cert_reqs` specifies whether a certificate is
+   The parameter ``cert_reqs`` specifies whether a certificate is
    required from the other side of the connection, and whether it will
    be validated if provided.  It must be one of the three values
    :const:`CERT_NONE` (certificates ignored), :const:`CERT_OPTIONAL` (not required,
    but validated if provided), or :const:`CERT_REQUIRED` (required and
    validated).  If the value of this parameter is not :const:`CERT_NONE`, then
-   the `ca_certs` parameter must point to a file of CA certificates.
+   the ``ca_certs`` parameter must point to a file of CA certificates.
 
-   The parameter `ssl_version` specifies which version of the SSL protocol to use.  Typically,
+   The parameter ``ssl_version`` specifies which version of the SSL protocol to use.  Typically,
    the server specifies this, and a client connecting to it must use the same protocol.  An
    SSL server using :const:`PROTOCOL_SSLv23` can understand a client connecting via SSL2, SSL3, or TLS1,
    but a client using :const:`PROTOCOL_SSLv23` can only connect to an SSL2 server.
 
-   The `ca_certs` file contains a set of concatenated "certification authority" certificates,
+   The ``ca_certs`` file contains a set of concatenated "certification authority" certificates,
    which are used to validate certificates passed from the other end of the connection.
-   This file
-   contains the certificates in PEM format (IETF RFC 1422) where each certificate is
-   encoded in base64 encoding and surrounded with a header and footer::
-
-      -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
-      ... (CA certificate in base64 encoding) ...
-      -----END CERTIFICATE-----
-
-   The various certificates in the file are just concatenated together::
-
-      -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
-      ... (CA certificate in base64 encoding) ...
-      -----END CERTIFICATE-----
-      -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
-      ... (a second CA certificate in base64 encoding) ...
-      -----END CERTIFICATE-----
-      -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
-      ... (a root certificate in base64 encoding) ...
-      -----END CERTIFICATE-----
-
-   Some "standard" root certificates are available at
-   http://www.thawte.com/roots/  (for Thawte roots) and
-   http://www.verisign.com/support/roots.html  (for Verisign roots).
+   See the above discussion of :ref:`ssl-certificates` for more information about how to arrange
+   the certificates in this file.
 
 .. method:: sslsocket.read([nbytes])
 
-   Reads up to `nbytes` bytes from the SSL-encrypted channel and returns them.
+   Reads up to ``nbytes`` bytes from the SSL-encrypted channel and returns them.
 
 .. method:: sslsocket.write(data)
 
-   Writes the `data` to the other side of the connection, using the SSL channel to encrypt.  Returns the number
+   Writes the ``data`` to the other side of the connection, using the SSL channel to encrypt.  Returns the number
    of bytes written.
 
 .. method:: sslsocket.getpeercert()
 
-   If there is no certificate for the peer on the other end of the connection, returns `None`.
-   If a certificate was received from the peer, but not validated, returns an empty `dict` instance.
-   If a certificate was received and validated, returns a `dict` instance with the fields
-   `subject` (the principal for which the certificate was issued), `issuer` (the signer of
-   the certificate), `notBefore` (the time before which the certificate should not be trusted),
-   and `notAfter` (the time after which the certificate should not be trusted) filled in.
+   If there is no certificate for the peer on the other end of the connection, returns ``None``.
+   If a certificate was received from the peer, but not validated, returns an empty ``dict`` instance.
+   If a certificate was received and validated, returns a ``dict`` instance with the fields
+   ``subject`` (the principal for which the certificate was issued), ``issuer`` (the signer of
+   the certificate), ``notBefore`` (the time before which the certificate should not be trusted),
+   and ``notAfter`` (the time after which the certificate should not be trusted) filled in.
 
    The "subject" and "issuer" fields are themselves dictionaries containing the fields given
    in the certificate's data structure for each principal::
@@ -229,12 +262,34 @@
        'version': 2}
 
    This certificate is said to be *self-signed*, because the subject
-   and issuer are the same entity.  The *version* field refers the the X509 version
+   and issuer are the same entity.  The *version* field refers to the X509 version
    that's used for the certificate.
 
+.. method:: sslsocket.ssl_shutdown()
+
+   Closes the SSL context (if any) over the socket, but leaves the socket connection
+   open for further use, if both sides are willing.  This is different from :meth:`socket.socket.shutdown`,
+   which will close the connection, but leave the local socket available for further use.
+
+
 Examples
 --------
 
+Testing for SSL support
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+To test for the presence of SSL support in a Python installation, user code should use the following idiom::
+
+   try:
+      import ssl
+   except ImportError:
+      pass
+   else:
+      [ do something that requires SSL support ]
+
+Client-side operation
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
 This example connects to an SSL server, prints the server's address and certificate,
 sends some bytes, and reads part of the response::
 
@@ -281,6 +336,9 @@
     'notBefore': 'May  9 00:00:00 2007 GMT',
     'version': 2}
 
+Server-side operation
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
 For server operation, typically you'd need to have a server certificate, and private key, each in a file.
 You'd open a socket, bind it to a port, call :meth:`listen` on it, then start waiting for clients
 to connect::
@@ -300,7 +358,7 @@
                                  keyfile="mykeyfile", ssl_protocol=ssl.PROTOCOL_TLSv1)
       deal_with_client(connstream)
 
-Then you'd read data from the `connstream` and do something with it till you are finished with the client (or the client is finished with you)::
+Then you'd read data from the ``connstream`` and do something with it till you are finished with the client (or the client is finished with you)::
 
    def deal_with_client(connstream):
 
@@ -317,3 +375,14 @@
 And go back to listening for new client connections.
 
            
+.. _ssl-references:
+
+References
+----------
+
+Class :class:`socket.socket`
+      Documentation of underlying :mod:`socket` class
+
+`Introducing SSL and Certificates using OpenSSL <http://old.pseudonym.org/ssl/wwwj-index.html>`_, by Frederick J. Hirsch
+
+`Privacy Enhancement for Internet Electronic Mail: Part II: Certificate-Based Key Management`, :rfc:`1422`, by Steve Kent
diff --git a/Lib/httplib.py b/Lib/httplib.py
index aee9b0d..599a331 100644
--- a/Lib/httplib.py
+++ b/Lib/httplib.py
@@ -940,205 +940,6 @@
 
         return response
 
-# The next several classes are used to define FakeSocket, a socket-like
-# interface to an SSL connection.
-
-# The primary complexity comes from faking a makefile() method.  The
-# standard socket makefile() implementation calls dup() on the socket
-# file descriptor.  As a consequence, clients can call close() on the
-# parent socket and its makefile children in any order.  The underlying
-# socket isn't closed until they are all closed.
-
-# The implementation uses reference counting to keep the socket open
-# until the last client calls close().  SharedSocket keeps track of
-# the reference counting and SharedSocketClient provides an constructor
-# and close() method that call incref() and decref() correctly.
-
-class SharedSocket:
-
-    def __init__(self, sock):
-        self.sock = sock
-        self._refcnt = 0
-
-    def incref(self):
-        self._refcnt += 1
-
-    def decref(self):
-        self._refcnt -= 1
-        assert self._refcnt >= 0
-        if self._refcnt == 0:
-            self.sock.close()
-
-    def __del__(self):
-        self.sock.close()
-
-class SharedSocketClient:
-
-    def __init__(self, shared):
-        self._closed = 0
-        self._shared = shared
-        self._shared.incref()
-        self._sock = shared.sock
-
-    def close(self):
-        if not self._closed:
-            self._shared.decref()
-            self._closed = 1
-            self._shared = None
-
-class SSLFile(SharedSocketClient):
-    """File-like object wrapping an SSL socket."""
-
-    BUFSIZE = 8192
-
-    def __init__(self, sock, ssl, bufsize=None):
-        SharedSocketClient.__init__(self, sock)
-        self._ssl = ssl
-        self._buf = ''
-        self._bufsize = bufsize or self.__class__.BUFSIZE
-
-    def _read(self):
-        buf = ''
-        # put in a loop so that we retry on transient errors
-        while True:
-            try:
-                buf = self._ssl.read(self._bufsize)
-            except socket.sslerror, err:
-                if (err[0] == socket.SSL_ERROR_WANT_READ
-                    or err[0] == socket.SSL_ERROR_WANT_WRITE):
-                    continue
-                if (err[0] == socket.SSL_ERROR_ZERO_RETURN
-                    or err[0] == socket.SSL_ERROR_EOF):
-                    break
-                raise
-            except socket.error, err:
-                if err[0] == errno.EINTR:
-                    continue
-                if err[0] == errno.EBADF:
-                    # XXX socket was closed?
-                    break
-                raise
-            else:
-                break
-        return buf
-
-    def read(self, size=None):
-        L = [self._buf]
-        avail = len(self._buf)
-        while size is None or avail < size:
-            s = self._read()
-            if s == '':
-                break
-            L.append(s)
-            avail += len(s)
-        all = "".join(L)
-        if size is None:
-            self._buf = ''
-            return all
-        else:
-            self._buf = all[size:]
-            return all[:size]
-
-    def readline(self):
-        L = [self._buf]
-        self._buf = ''
-        while 1:
-            i = L[-1].find("\n")
-            if i >= 0:
-                break
-            s = self._read()
-            if s == '':
-                break
-            L.append(s)
-        if i == -1:
-            # loop exited because there is no more data
-            return "".join(L)
-        else:
-            all = "".join(L)
-            # XXX could do enough bookkeeping not to do a 2nd search
-            i = all.find("\n") + 1
-            line = all[:i]
-            self._buf = all[i:]
-            return line
-
-    def readlines(self, sizehint=0):
-        total = 0
-        list = []
-        while True:
-            line = self.readline()
-            if not line:
-                break
-            list.append(line)
-            total += len(line)
-            if sizehint and total >= sizehint:
-                break
-        return list
-
-    def fileno(self):
-        return self._sock.fileno()
-
-    def __iter__(self):
-        return self
-
-    def next(self):
-        line = self.readline()
-        if not line:
-            raise StopIteration
-        return line
-
-class FakeSocket(SharedSocketClient):
-
-    class _closedsocket:
-        def __getattr__(self, name):
-            raise error(9, 'Bad file descriptor')
-
-    def __init__(self, sock, ssl):
-        sock = SharedSocket(sock)
-        SharedSocketClient.__init__(self, sock)
-        self._ssl = ssl
-
-    def close(self):
-        SharedSocketClient.close(self)
-        self._sock = self.__class__._closedsocket()
-
-    def makefile(self, mode, bufsize=None):
-        if mode != 'r' and mode != 'rb':
-            raise UnimplementedFileMode()
-        return SSLFile(self._shared, self._ssl, bufsize)
-
-    def send(self, stuff, flags = 0):
-        return self._ssl.write(stuff)
-
-    sendall = send
-
-    def recv(self, len = 1024, flags = 0):
-        return self._ssl.read(len)
-
-    def __getattr__(self, attr):
-        return getattr(self._sock, attr)
-
-    def close(self):
-        SharedSocketClient.close(self)
-        self._ssl = None
-
-class HTTPSConnection(HTTPConnection):
-    "This class allows communication via SSL."
-
-    default_port = HTTPS_PORT
-
-    def __init__(self, host, port=None, key_file=None, cert_file=None,
-                 strict=None, timeout=None):
-        HTTPConnection.__init__(self, host, port, strict, timeout)
-        self.key_file = key_file
-        self.cert_file = cert_file
-
-    def connect(self):
-        "Connect to a host on a given (SSL) port."
-
-        sock = socket.create_connection((self.host, self.port), self.timeout)
-        ssl = socket.ssl(sock, self.key_file, self.cert_file)
-        self.sock = FakeSocket(sock, ssl)
-
 
 class HTTP:
     "Compatibility class with httplib.py from 1.5."
@@ -1229,7 +1030,29 @@
         ### do it
         self.file = None
 
-if hasattr(socket, 'ssl'):
+try:
+    import ssl
+except ImportError:
+    pass
+else:
+    class HTTPSConnection(HTTPConnection):
+        "This class allows communication via SSL."
+
+        default_port = HTTPS_PORT
+
+        def __init__(self, host, port=None, key_file=None, cert_file=None,
+                     strict=None, timeout=None):
+            HTTPConnection.__init__(self, host, port, strict, timeout)
+            self.key_file = key_file
+            self.cert_file = cert_file
+
+        def connect(self):
+            "Connect to a host on a given (SSL) port."
+
+            sock = socket.create_connection((self.host, self.port), self.timeout)
+            self.sock = ssl.sslsocket(sock, self.key_file, self.cert_file)
+
+
     class HTTPS(HTTP):
         """Compatibility with 1.5 httplib interface
 
@@ -1256,6 +1079,10 @@
             self.cert_file = cert_file
 
 
+    def FakeSocket (sock, sslobj):
+        return sslobj
+
+
 class HTTPException(Exception):
     # Subclasses that define an __init__ must call Exception.__init__
     # or define self.args.  Otherwise, str() will fail.
@@ -1413,7 +1240,11 @@
     h.getreply()
     h.close()
 
-    if hasattr(socket, 'ssl'):
+    try:
+        import ssl
+    except ImportError:
+        pass
+    else:
 
         for host, selector in (('sourceforge.net', '/projects/python'),
                                ):
diff --git a/Lib/imaplib.py b/Lib/imaplib.py
index e30ae39..7e3a046 100644
--- a/Lib/imaplib.py
+++ b/Lib/imaplib.py
@@ -1111,94 +1111,99 @@
 
 
 
-class IMAP4_SSL(IMAP4):
+try:
+    import ssl
+except ImportError:
+    pass
+else:
+    class IMAP4_SSL(IMAP4):
 
-    """IMAP4 client class over SSL connection
+        """IMAP4 client class over SSL connection
 
-    Instantiate with: IMAP4_SSL([host[, port[, keyfile[, certfile]]]])
+        Instantiate with: IMAP4_SSL([host[, port[, keyfile[, certfile]]]])
 
-            host - host's name (default: localhost);
-            port - port number (default: standard IMAP4 SSL port).
-            keyfile - PEM formatted file that contains your private key (default: None);
-            certfile - PEM formatted certificate chain file (default: None);
+                host - host's name (default: localhost);
+                port - port number (default: standard IMAP4 SSL port).
+                keyfile - PEM formatted file that contains your private key (default: None);
+                certfile - PEM formatted certificate chain file (default: None);
 
-    for more documentation see the docstring of the parent class IMAP4.
-    """
-
-
-    def __init__(self, host = '', port = IMAP4_SSL_PORT, keyfile = None, certfile = None):
-        self.keyfile = keyfile
-        self.certfile = certfile
-        IMAP4.__init__(self, host, port)
-
-
-    def open(self, host = '', port = IMAP4_SSL_PORT):
-        """Setup connection to remote server on "host:port".
-            (default: localhost:standard IMAP4 SSL port).
-        This connection will be used by the routines:
-            read, readline, send, shutdown.
+        for more documentation see the docstring of the parent class IMAP4.
         """
-        self.host = host
-        self.port = port
-        self.sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
-        self.sock.connect((host, port))
-        self.sslobj = socket.ssl(self.sock, self.keyfile, self.certfile)
 
 
-    def read(self, size):
-        """Read 'size' bytes from remote."""
-        # sslobj.read() sometimes returns < size bytes
-        chunks = []
-        read = 0
-        while read < size:
-            data = self.sslobj.read(size-read)
-            read += len(data)
-            chunks.append(data)
-
-        return ''.join(chunks)
+        def __init__(self, host = '', port = IMAP4_SSL_PORT, keyfile = None, certfile = None):
+            self.keyfile = keyfile
+            self.certfile = certfile
+            IMAP4.__init__(self, host, port)
 
 
-    def readline(self):
-        """Read line from remote."""
-        # NB: socket.ssl needs a "readline" method, or perhaps a "makefile" method.
-        line = []
-        while 1:
-            char = self.sslobj.read(1)
-            line.append(char)
-            if char == "\n": return ''.join(line)
+        def open(self, host = '', port = IMAP4_SSL_PORT):
+            """Setup connection to remote server on "host:port".
+                (default: localhost:standard IMAP4 SSL port).
+            This connection will be used by the routines:
+                read, readline, send, shutdown.
+            """
+            self.host = host
+            self.port = port
+            self.sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
+            self.sock.connect((host, port))
+            self.sslobj = ssl.sslsocket(self.sock, self.keyfile, self.certfile)
 
 
-    def send(self, data):
-        """Send data to remote."""
-        # NB: socket.ssl needs a "sendall" method to match socket objects.
-        bytes = len(data)
-        while bytes > 0:
-            sent = self.sslobj.write(data)
-            if sent == bytes:
-                break    # avoid copy
-            data = data[sent:]
-            bytes = bytes - sent
+        def read(self, size):
+            """Read 'size' bytes from remote."""
+            # sslobj.read() sometimes returns < size bytes
+            chunks = []
+            read = 0
+            while read < size:
+                data = self.sslobj.read(size-read)
+                read += len(data)
+                chunks.append(data)
+
+            return ''.join(chunks)
 
 
-    def shutdown(self):
-        """Close I/O established in "open"."""
-        self.sock.close()
+        def readline(self):
+            """Read line from remote."""
+            # NB: socket.ssl needs a "readline" method, or perhaps a "makefile" method.
+            line = []
+            while 1:
+                char = self.sslobj.read(1)
+                line.append(char)
+                if char == "\n": return ''.join(line)
 
 
-    def socket(self):
-        """Return socket instance used to connect to IMAP4 server.
-
-        socket = <instance>.socket()
-        """
-        return self.sock
+        def send(self, data):
+            """Send data to remote."""
+            # NB: socket.ssl needs a "sendall" method to match socket objects.
+            bytes = len(data)
+            while bytes > 0:
+                sent = self.sslobj.write(data)
+                if sent == bytes:
+                    break    # avoid copy
+                data = data[sent:]
+                bytes = bytes - sent
 
 
-    def ssl(self):
-        """Return SSLObject instance used to communicate with the IMAP4 server.
+        def shutdown(self):
+            """Close I/O established in "open"."""
+            self.sock.close()
 
-        ssl = <instance>.socket.ssl()
-        """
-        return self.sslobj
+
+        def socket(self):
+            """Return socket instance used to connect to IMAP4 server.
+
+            socket = <instance>.socket()
+            """
+            return self.sock
+
+
+        def ssl(self):
+            """Return SSLObject instance used to communicate with the IMAP4 server.
+
+            ssl = <instance>.socket.ssl()
+            """
+            return self.sslobj
 
 
 
diff --git a/Lib/poplib.py b/Lib/poplib.py
index ba40572..58ebb50 100644
--- a/Lib/poplib.py
+++ b/Lib/poplib.py
@@ -307,89 +307,95 @@
             return self._shortcmd('UIDL %s' % which)
         return self._longcmd('UIDL')
 
-class POP3_SSL(POP3):
-    """POP3 client class over SSL connection
+try:
+    import ssl
+except ImportError:
+    pass
+else:
 
-    Instantiate with: POP3_SSL(hostname, port=995, keyfile=None, certfile=None)
+    class POP3_SSL(POP3):
+        """POP3 client class over SSL connection
 
-           hostname - the hostname of the pop3 over ssl server
-           port - port number
-           keyfile - PEM formatted file that countains your private key
-           certfile - PEM formatted certificate chain file
+        Instantiate with: POP3_SSL(hostname, port=995, keyfile=None, certfile=None)
 
-        See the methods of the parent class POP3 for more documentation.
-    """
+               hostname - the hostname of the pop3 over ssl server
+               port - port number
+               keyfile - PEM formatted file that countains your private key
+               certfile - PEM formatted certificate chain file
 
-    def __init__(self, host, port = POP3_SSL_PORT, keyfile = None, certfile = None):
-        self.host = host
-        self.port = port
-        self.keyfile = keyfile
-        self.certfile = certfile
-        self.buffer = ""
-        msg = "getaddrinfo returns an empty list"
-        self.sock = None
-        for res in socket.getaddrinfo(self.host, self.port, 0, socket.SOCK_STREAM):
-            af, socktype, proto, canonname, sa = res
-            try:
-                self.sock = socket.socket(af, socktype, proto)
-                self.sock.connect(sa)
-            except socket.error, msg:
-                if self.sock:
-                    self.sock.close()
-                self.sock = None
-                continue
-            break
-        if not self.sock:
-            raise socket.error, msg
-        self.file = self.sock.makefile('rb')
-        self.sslobj = socket.ssl(self.sock, self.keyfile, self.certfile)
-        self._debugging = 0
-        self.welcome = self._getresp()
+            See the methods of the parent class POP3 for more documentation.
+        """
 
-    def _fillBuffer(self):
-        localbuf = self.sslobj.read()
-        if len(localbuf) == 0:
-            raise error_proto('-ERR EOF')
-        self.buffer += localbuf
+        def __init__(self, host, port = POP3_SSL_PORT, keyfile = None, certfile = None):
+            self.host = host
+            self.port = port
+            self.keyfile = keyfile
+            self.certfile = certfile
+            self.buffer = ""
+            msg = "getaddrinfo returns an empty list"
+            self.sock = None
+            for res in socket.getaddrinfo(self.host, self.port, 0, socket.SOCK_STREAM):
+                af, socktype, proto, canonname, sa = res
+                try:
+                    self.sock = socket.socket(af, socktype, proto)
+                    self.sock.connect(sa)
+                except socket.error, msg:
+                    if self.sock:
+                        self.sock.close()
+                    self.sock = None
+                    continue
+                break
+            if not self.sock:
+                raise socket.error, msg
+            self.file = self.sock.makefile('rb')
+            self.sslobj = ssl.sslsocket(self.sock, self.keyfile, self.certfile)
+            self._debugging = 0
+            self.welcome = self._getresp()
 
-    def _getline(self):
-        line = ""
-        renewline = re.compile(r'.*?\n')
-        match = renewline.match(self.buffer)
-        while not match:
-            self._fillBuffer()
+        def _fillBuffer(self):
+            localbuf = self.sslobj.read()
+            if len(localbuf) == 0:
+                raise error_proto('-ERR EOF')
+            self.buffer += localbuf
+
+        def _getline(self):
+            line = ""
+            renewline = re.compile(r'.*?\n')
             match = renewline.match(self.buffer)
-        line = match.group(0)
-        self.buffer = renewline.sub('' ,self.buffer, 1)
-        if self._debugging > 1: print '*get*', repr(line)
+            while not match:
+                self._fillBuffer()
+                match = renewline.match(self.buffer)
+            line = match.group(0)
+            self.buffer = renewline.sub('' ,self.buffer, 1)
+            if self._debugging > 1: print '*get*', repr(line)
 
-        octets = len(line)
-        if line[-2:] == CRLF:
-            return line[:-2], octets
-        if line[0] == CR:
-            return line[1:-1], octets
-        return line[:-1], octets
+            octets = len(line)
+            if line[-2:] == CRLF:
+                return line[:-2], octets
+            if line[0] == CR:
+                return line[1:-1], octets
+            return line[:-1], octets
 
-    def _putline(self, line):
-        if self._debugging > 1: print '*put*', repr(line)
-        line += CRLF
-        bytes = len(line)
-        while bytes > 0:
-            sent = self.sslobj.write(line)
-            if sent == bytes:
-                break    # avoid copy
-            line = line[sent:]
-            bytes = bytes - sent
+        def _putline(self, line):
+            if self._debugging > 1: print '*put*', repr(line)
+            line += CRLF
+            bytes = len(line)
+            while bytes > 0:
+                sent = self.sslobj.write(line)
+                if sent == bytes:
+                    break    # avoid copy
+                line = line[sent:]
+                bytes = bytes - sent
 
-    def quit(self):
-        """Signoff: commit changes on server, unlock mailbox, close connection."""
-        try:
-            resp = self._shortcmd('QUIT')
-        except error_proto, val:
-            resp = val
-        self.sock.close()
-        del self.sslobj, self.sock
-        return resp
+        def quit(self):
+            """Signoff: commit changes on server, unlock mailbox, close connection."""
+            try:
+                resp = self._shortcmd('QUIT')
+            except error_proto, val:
+                resp = val
+            self.sock.close()
+            del self.sslobj, self.sock
+            return resp
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
diff --git a/Lib/smtplib.py b/Lib/smtplib.py
index fc1df51..874d970 100755
--- a/Lib/smtplib.py
+++ b/Lib/smtplib.py
@@ -128,43 +128,6 @@
     combination provided.
     """
 
-class SSLFakeSocket:
-    """A fake socket object that really wraps a SSLObject.
-
-    It only supports what is needed in smtplib.
-    """
-    def __init__(self, realsock, sslobj):
-        self.realsock = realsock
-        self.sslobj = sslobj
-
-    def send(self, str):
-        self.sslobj.write(str)
-        return len(str)
-
-    sendall = send
-
-    def close(self):
-        self.realsock.close()
-
-class SSLFakeFile:
-    """A fake file like object that really wraps a SSLObject.
-
-    It only supports what is needed in smtplib.
-    """
-    def __init__(self, sslobj):
-        self.sslobj = sslobj
-
-    def readline(self):
-        str = ""
-        chr = None
-        while chr != "\n":
-            chr = self.sslobj.read(1)
-            str += chr
-        return str
-
-    def close(self):
-        pass
-
 def quoteaddr(addr):
     """Quote a subset of the email addresses defined by RFC 821.
 
@@ -194,6 +157,33 @@
         re.sub(r'(?:\r\n|\n|\r(?!\n))', CRLF, data))
 
 
+try:
+    import ssl
+except ImportError:
+    _have_ssl = False
+else:
+
+    class SSLFakeFile:
+        """A fake file like object that really wraps a SSLObject.
+
+        It only supports what is needed in smtplib.
+        """
+        def __init__(self, sslobj):
+            self.sslobj = sslobj
+
+        def readline(self):
+            str = ""
+            chr = None
+            while chr != "\n":
+                chr = self.sslobj.read(1)
+                str += chr
+            return str
+
+        def close(self):
+            pass
+
+    _have_ssl = True
+
 class SMTP:
     """This class manages a connection to an SMTP or ESMTP server.
     SMTP Objects:
@@ -596,9 +586,10 @@
         """
         (resp, reply) = self.docmd("STARTTLS")
         if resp == 220:
-            sslobj = socket.ssl(self.sock, keyfile, certfile)
-            self.sock = SSLFakeSocket(self.sock, sslobj)
-            self.file = SSLFakeFile(sslobj)
+            if not _have_ssl:
+                raise RuntimeError("No SSL support included in this Python")
+            self.sock = ssl.sslsocket(self.sock, keyfile, certfile)
+            self.file = SSLFakeFile(self.sock)
         return (resp, reply)
 
     def sendmail(self, from_addr, to_addrs, msg, mail_options=[],
@@ -710,27 +701,29 @@
         self.docmd("quit")
         self.close()
 
-class SMTP_SSL(SMTP):
-    """ This is a subclass derived from SMTP that connects over an SSL encrypted
-    socket (to use this class you need a socket module that was compiled with SSL
-    support). If host is not specified, '' (the local host) is used. If port is
-    omitted, the standard SMTP-over-SSL port (465) is used. keyfile and certfile
-    are also optional - they can contain a PEM formatted private key and
-    certificate chain file for the SSL connection.
-    """
-    def __init__(self, host='', port=0, local_hostname=None,
-                 keyfile=None, certfile=None, timeout=None):
-        self.keyfile = keyfile
-        self.certfile = certfile
-        SMTP.__init__(self, host, port, local_hostname, timeout)
-        self.default_port = SMTP_SSL_PORT
+if _have_ssl:
 
-    def _get_socket(self, host, port, timeout):
-        if self.debuglevel > 0: print>>stderr, 'connect:', (host, port)
-        self.sock = socket.create_connection((host, port), timeout)
-        sslobj = socket.ssl(self.sock, self.keyfile, self.certfile)
-        self.sock = SSLFakeSocket(self.sock, sslobj)
-        self.file = SSLFakeFile(sslobj)
+    class SMTP_SSL(SMTP):
+        """ This is a subclass derived from SMTP that connects over an SSL encrypted
+        socket (to use this class you need a socket module that was compiled with SSL
+        support). If host is not specified, '' (the local host) is used. If port is
+        omitted, the standard SMTP-over-SSL port (465) is used. keyfile and certfile
+        are also optional - they can contain a PEM formatted private key and
+        certificate chain file for the SSL connection.
+        """
+        def __init__(self, host='', port=0, local_hostname=None,
+                     keyfile=None, certfile=None, timeout=None):
+            self.keyfile = keyfile
+            self.certfile = certfile
+            SMTP.__init__(self, host, port, local_hostname, timeout)
+            self.default_port = SMTP_SSL_PORT
+
+        def _get_socket(self, host, port, timeout):
+            if self.debuglevel > 0: print>>stderr, 'connect:', (host, port)
+            self.sock = socket.create_connection((host, port), timeout)
+            sslobj = socket.ssl(self.sock, self.keyfile, self.certfile)
+            self.sock = SSLFakeSocket(self.sock, sslobj)
+            self.file = SSLFakeFile(sslobj)
 
 #
 # LMTP extension
diff --git a/Lib/socket.py b/Lib/socket.py
index 48bb4f6..313151c 100644
--- a/Lib/socket.py
+++ b/Lib/socket.py
@@ -46,15 +46,37 @@
 import _socket
 from _socket import *
 
-_have_ssl = False
 try:
     import _ssl
-    from _ssl import *
-    _have_ssl = True
 except ImportError:
+    # no SSL support
     pass
+else:
+    def ssl(sock, keyfile=None, certfile=None):
+        # we do an internal import here because the ssl
+        # module imports the socket module
+        import ssl as _realssl
+        warnings.warn("socket.ssl() is deprecated.  Use ssl.sslsocket() instead.",
+                      DeprecationWarning, stacklevel=2)
+        return _realssl.sslwrap_simple(sock, keyfile, certfile)
 
-import os, sys
+    # we need to import the same constants we used to...
+    from _ssl import \
+         sslerror, \
+         RAND_add, \
+         RAND_egd, \
+         RAND_status, \
+         SSL_ERROR_ZERO_RETURN, \
+         SSL_ERROR_WANT_READ, \
+         SSL_ERROR_WANT_WRITE, \
+         SSL_ERROR_WANT_X509_LOOKUP, \
+         SSL_ERROR_SYSCALL, \
+         SSL_ERROR_SSL, \
+         SSL_ERROR_WANT_CONNECT, \
+         SSL_ERROR_EOF, \
+         SSL_ERROR_INVALID_ERROR_CODE
+
+import os, sys, warnings
 
 try:
     from errno import EBADF
@@ -63,15 +85,9 @@
 
 __all__ = ["getfqdn"]
 __all__.extend(os._get_exports_list(_socket))
-if _have_ssl:
-    __all__.extend(os._get_exports_list(_ssl))
+
 
 _realsocket = socket
-if _have_ssl:
-    def ssl(sock, keyfile=None, certfile=None):
-        import ssl as realssl
-        return realssl.sslwrap_simple(sock, keyfile, certfile)
-    __all__.append("ssl")
 
 # WSA error codes
 if sys.platform.lower().startswith("win"):
diff --git a/Lib/ssl.py b/Lib/ssl.py
index 99f6257..6ec6af1 100644
--- a/Lib/ssl.py
+++ b/Lib/ssl.py
@@ -58,55 +58,47 @@
 import os, sys
 
 import _ssl             # if we can't import it, let the error propagate
-from socket import socket
 from _ssl import sslerror
 from _ssl import CERT_NONE, CERT_OPTIONAL, CERT_REQUIRED
 from _ssl import PROTOCOL_SSLv2, PROTOCOL_SSLv3, PROTOCOL_SSLv23, PROTOCOL_TLSv1
+from _ssl import \
+     SSL_ERROR_ZERO_RETURN, \
+     SSL_ERROR_WANT_READ, \
+     SSL_ERROR_WANT_WRITE, \
+     SSL_ERROR_WANT_X509_LOOKUP, \
+     SSL_ERROR_SYSCALL, \
+     SSL_ERROR_SSL, \
+     SSL_ERROR_WANT_CONNECT, \
+     SSL_ERROR_EOF, \
+     SSL_ERROR_INVALID_ERROR_CODE
 
-# Root certs:
-#
-# The "ca_certs" argument to sslsocket() expects a file containing one or more
-# certificates that are roots of various certificate signing chains.  This file
-# contains the certificates in PEM format (RFC ) where each certificate is
-# encoded in base64 encoding and surrounded with a header and footer:
-# -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
-# ... (CA certificate in base64 encoding) ...
-# -----END CERTIFICATE-----
-# The various certificates in the file are just concatenated together:
-# -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
-# ... (CA certificate in base64 encoding) ...
-# -----END CERTIFICATE-----
-# -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
-# ... (a second CA certificate in base64 encoding) ...
-# -----END CERTIFICATE-----
-#
-# Some "standard" root certificates are available at
-#
-# http://www.thawte.com/roots/  (for Thawte roots)
-# http://www.verisign.com/support/roots.html  (for Verisign)
+from socket import socket
+from socket import getnameinfo as _getnameinfo
+
 
 class sslsocket (socket):
 
+    """This class implements a subtype of socket.socket that wraps
+    the underlying OS socket in an SSL context when necessary, and
+    provides read and write methods over that channel."""
+
     def __init__(self, sock, keyfile=None, certfile=None,
                  server_side=False, cert_reqs=CERT_NONE,
                  ssl_version=PROTOCOL_SSLv23, ca_certs=None):
         socket.__init__(self, _sock=sock._sock)
         if certfile and not keyfile:
             keyfile = certfile
-        if server_side:
-            self._sslobj = _ssl.sslwrap(self._sock, 1, keyfile, certfile,
-                                        cert_reqs, ssl_version, ca_certs)
+        # see if it's connected
+        try:
+            socket.getpeername(self)
+        except:
+            # no, no connection yet
+            self._sslobj = None
         else:
-            # see if it's connected
-            try:
-                socket.getpeername(self)
-            except:
-                # no, no connection yet
-                self._sslobj = None
-            else:
-                # yes, create the SSL object
-                self._sslobj = _ssl.sslwrap(self._sock, 0, keyfile, certfile,
-                                            cert_reqs, ssl_version, ca_certs)
+            # yes, create the SSL object
+            self._sslobj = _ssl.sslwrap(self._sock, server_side,
+                                        keyfile, certfile,
+                                        cert_reqs, ssl_version, ca_certs)
         self.keyfile = keyfile
         self.certfile = certfile
         self.cert_reqs = cert_reqs
@@ -123,59 +115,77 @@
         return self._sslobj.peer_certificate()
 
     def send (self, data, flags=0):
-        if flags != 0:
-            raise ValueError(
-                "non-zero flags not allowed in calls to send() on %s" %
-                self.__class__)
-        return self._sslobj.write(data)
+        if self._sslobj:
+            if flags != 0:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    "non-zero flags not allowed in calls to send() on %s" %
+                    self.__class__)
+            return self._sslobj.write(data)
+        else:
+            return socket.send(self, data, flags)
 
     def send_to (self, data, addr, flags=0):
-        raise ValueError("send_to not allowed on instances of %s" %
-                         self.__class__)
+        if self._sslobj:
+            raise ValueError("send_to not allowed on instances of %s" %
+                             self.__class__)
+        else:
+            return socket.send_to(self, data, addr, flags)
 
     def sendall (self, data, flags=0):
-        if flags != 0:
-            raise ValueError(
-                "non-zero flags not allowed in calls to sendall() on %s" %
-                self.__class__)
-        return self._sslobj.write(data)
+        if self._sslobj:
+            if flags != 0:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    "non-zero flags not allowed in calls to sendall() on %s" %
+                    self.__class__)
+            return self._sslobj.write(data)
+        else:
+            return socket.sendall(self, data, flags)
 
     def recv (self, buflen=1024, flags=0):
-        if flags != 0:
-            raise ValueError(
-                "non-zero flags not allowed in calls to sendall() on %s" %
-                self.__class__)
-        return self._sslobj.read(data, buflen)
+        if self._sslobj:
+            if flags != 0:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    "non-zero flags not allowed in calls to sendall() on %s" %
+                    self.__class__)
+            return self._sslobj.read(data, buflen)
+        else:
+            return socket.recv(self, buflen, flags)
 
     def recv_from (self, addr, buflen=1024, flags=0):
-        raise ValueError("recv_from not allowed on instances of %s" %
-                         self.__class__)
+        if self._sslobj:
+            raise ValueError("recv_from not allowed on instances of %s" %
+                             self.__class__)
+        else:
+            return socket.recv_from(self, addr, buflen, flags)
 
-    def shutdown(self):
+    def ssl_shutdown(self):
         if self._sslobj:
             self._sslobj.shutdown()
             self._sslobj = None
-        else:
-            socket.shutdown(self)
+
+    def shutdown(self, how):
+        self.ssl_shutdown()
+        socket.shutdown(self, how)
 
     def close(self):
-        if self._sslobj:
-            self.shutdown()
-        else:
-            socket.close(self)
+        self.ssl_shutdown()
+        socket.close(self)
 
     def connect(self, addr):
         # Here we assume that the socket is client-side, and not
         # connected at the time of the call.  We connect it, then wrap it.
-        if self._sslobj or (self.getsockname()[1] != 0):
+        if self._sslobj:
             raise ValueError("attempt to connect already-connected sslsocket!")
         socket.connect(self, addr)
-        self._sslobj = _ssl.sslwrap(self._sock, 0, self.keyfile, self.certfile,
+        self._sslobj = _ssl.sslwrap(self._sock, False, self.keyfile, self.certfile,
                                     self.cert_reqs, self.ssl_version,
                                     self.ca_certs)
 
     def accept(self):
-        raise ValueError("accept() not supported on an sslsocket")
+        newsock, addr = socket.accept(self)
+        return (sslsocket(newsock, True, self.keyfile, self.certfile,
+                         self.cert_reqs, self.ssl_version,
+                         self.ca_certs), addr)
 
 
 # some utility functions
@@ -190,64 +200,3 @@
 
     return _ssl.sslwrap(sock._sock, 0, keyfile, certfile, CERT_NONE,
                         PROTOCOL_SSLv23, None)
-
-# fetch the certificate that the server is providing in PEM form
-
-def fetch_server_certificate (host, port):
-
-    import re, tempfile, os
-
-    def subproc(cmd):
-        from subprocess import Popen, PIPE, STDOUT
-        proc = Popen(cmd, stdout=PIPE, stderr=STDOUT, shell=True)
-        status = proc.wait()
-        output = proc.stdout.read()
-        return status, output
-
-    def strip_to_x509_cert(certfile_contents, outfile=None):
-        m = re.search(r"^([-]+BEGIN CERTIFICATE[-]+[\r]*\n"
-                      r".*[\r]*^[-]+END CERTIFICATE[-]+)$",
-                      certfile_contents, re.MULTILINE | re.DOTALL)
-        if not m:
-            return None
-        else:
-            tn = tempfile.mktemp()
-            fp = open(tn, "w")
-            fp.write(m.group(1) + "\n")
-            fp.close()
-            try:
-                tn2 = (outfile or tempfile.mktemp())
-                status, output = subproc(r'openssl x509 -in "%s" -out "%s"' %
-                                         (tn, tn2))
-                if status != 0:
-                    raise OperationError(status, tsig, output)
-                fp = open(tn2, 'rb')
-                data = fp.read()
-                fp.close()
-                os.unlink(tn2)
-                return data
-            finally:
-                os.unlink(tn)
-
-    if sys.platform.startswith("win"):
-        tfile = tempfile.mktemp()
-        fp = open(tfile, "w")
-        fp.write("quit\n")
-        fp.close()
-        try:
-            status, output = subproc(
-                'openssl s_client -connect "%s:%s" -showcerts < "%s"' %
-                (host, port, tfile))
-        finally:
-            os.unlink(tfile)
-    else:
-        status, output = subproc(
-            'openssl s_client -connect "%s:%s" -showcerts < /dev/null' %
-            (host, port))
-    if status != 0:
-        raise OSError(status)
-    certtext = strip_to_x509_cert(output)
-    if not certtext:
-        raise ValueError("Invalid response received from server at %s:%s" %
-                         (host, port))
-    return certtext
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_socket_ssl.py b/Lib/test/test_socket_ssl.py
index e08ec44..f7c1aa1 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_socket_ssl.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_socket_ssl.py
@@ -110,12 +110,12 @@
         if test_support.verbose:
             print "test_978833 ..."
 
-        import os, httplib
+        import os, httplib, ssl
         with test_support.transient_internet():
             s = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET)
             s.connect(("www.sf.net", 443))
             fd = s._sock.fileno()
-            sock = httplib.FakeSocket(s, socket.ssl(s))
+            sock = ssl.sslsocket(s)
             s = None
             sock.close()
             try:
diff --git a/Lib/urllib.py b/Lib/urllib.py
index 167bdcb..5f3ec3c 100644
--- a/Lib/urllib.py
+++ b/Lib/urllib.py
@@ -91,6 +91,14 @@
     if _urlopener:
         _urlopener.cleanup()
 
+# check for SSL
+try:
+    import ssl
+except:
+    _have_ssl = False
+else:
+    _have_ssl = True
+
 # exception raised when downloaded size does not match content-length
 class ContentTooShortError(IOError):
     def __init__(self, message, content):
@@ -361,9 +369,10 @@
         fp.close()
         raise IOError, ('http error', errcode, errmsg, headers)
 
-    if hasattr(socket, "ssl"):
+    if _have_ssl:
         def open_https(self, url, data=None):
             """Use HTTPS protocol."""
+
             import httplib
             user_passwd = None
             proxy_passwd = None