diff --git a/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/WFS.js b/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/WFS.js
index f9be84d1a8..e93b48e7f4 100644
--- a/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/WFS.js
+++ b/lib/OpenLayers/Layer/WFS.js
@@ -58,6 +58,15 @@ OpenLayers.Layer.WFS = OpenLayers.Class(
      *     but some services want it that way. Default false.
      */
     encodeBBOX: false,
+    
+    /**
+     * APIProperty: extractAttributes 
+     * {Boolean} Should the WFS layer parse attributes from the retrieved
+     *     GML? Defaults to false. If enabled, parsing is slower, but 
+     *     attributes are available in the attributes property of 
+     *     layer features.
+     */
+    extractAttributes: false,
 
     /**
      * Constructor: OpenLayers.Layer.WFS