diff --git a/dist/plugin.jelly b/dist/plugin.jelly
index 36ab9484..2119bac1 100644
--- a/dist/plugin.jelly
+++ b/dist/plugin.jelly
@@ -92,6 +92,8 @@
       +-------------------------------------------------------+
     </ant:echo>
 
+    <util:tokenize var="includelist" delim=",">${maven.dist.src.include}</util:tokenize>
+
     <ant:copy todir="${maven.dist.src.assembly.dir}">
       <ant:fileset dir=".">
         <ant:include name="README.txt"/>
@@ -100,6 +102,9 @@
         <ant:include name="project.properties"/>
         <ant:include name="maven.xml"/>
         <ant:include name="project.xml"/>
+        <j:forEach items="${includelist}" var="includeitem">
+          <ant:include name="${includeitem}" />
+        </j:forEach>
       </ant:fileset>
     </ant:copy>
 
diff --git a/dist/src/plugin-test/custom.txt b/dist/src/plugin-test/custom.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1fb37c6b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dist/src/plugin-test/custom.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+custom file included in source distribution build
diff --git a/dist/src/plugin-test/maven.xml b/dist/src/plugin-test/maven.xml
index 47da546c..a9a149c9 100644
--- a/dist/src/plugin-test/maven.xml
+++ b/dist/src/plugin-test/maven.xml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
          xmlns:util="jelly:util"
          xmlns:j="jelly:core">
          
-  <goal name="testPlugin" prereqs="test-dist">
+  <goal name="testPlugin" prereqs="test-dist,test-maven-dist-src-include">
   </goal>
   
   <goal name="test-dist">
@@ -29,4 +29,10 @@
       <assert:assertFileExists file="${maven.dist.dir}/${pom.artifactId}-${pom.currentVersion}${file}"/>
     </j:forEach>
   </goal>
+
+  <goal name="test-maven-dist-src-include">
+    <attainGoal name="dist:prepare-src-filesystem"/>
+    <assert:assertFileExists file="${maven.dist.src.assembly.dir}/custom.txt"/>
+  </goal>
+
 </project>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/dist/src/plugin-test/project.properties b/dist/src/plugin-test/project.properties
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ed254827
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dist/src/plugin-test/project.properties
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+maven.dist.src.include=custom.txt,doesntexists.txt
diff --git a/dist/src/plugin-test/project.xml b/dist/src/plugin-test/project.xml
index 2d9f4261..4da36e60 100644
--- a/dist/src/plugin-test/project.xml
+++ b/dist/src/plugin-test/project.xml
@@ -55,4 +55,10 @@
   <build>
     <sourceDirectory>src/main</sourceDirectory>
   </build>
+
+  <!-- avoid running all reports during test -->
+  <reports>
+    <report>maven-license-plugin</report>
+  </reports>
+
 </project>
diff --git a/dist/xdocs/changes.xml b/dist/xdocs/changes.xml
index 370dee5d..f4565d33 100644
--- a/dist/xdocs/changes.xml
+++ b/dist/xdocs/changes.xml
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
   </properties>
   <body>
     <release version="1.7-SNAPSHOT" date="in SVN">
+      <action dev="ltheussl" type="update" issue="MPDIST-15" due-to="Fabrizio Giustina">New <code>maven.dist.src.include</code> property.</action>
       <action dev="aheritier" type="add" issue="MPDIST-27,MPDIST-28" due-to="Phil Steitz">Allow to configure to which files should use CRLF/LF line endings in archives.</action>
       <action dev="ltheussl" type="fix" issue="MPDIST-24"><code>dist:prepare-src-filesystem</code> doesn't recognize <code>maven.ant.generatebuild.file</code>.</action>
       <action dev="aheritier" type="update" issue="MAVEN-1712">Update dependencies to match ones in maven 1.1 core and to unify them between plugins. The following dependencies are updated : 
diff --git a/dist/xdocs/properties.xml b/dist/xdocs/properties.xml
index 869b553e..921d73e4 100644
--- a/dist/xdocs/properties.xml
+++ b/dist/xdocs/properties.xml
@@ -51,7 +51,12 @@
           <td>maven.dist.src.assembly.dir</td>
           <td>yes - default is ${maven.dist.assembly.dir}/src/${maven.final.name}</td>
           <td>The directory where the sources are copied to so that it can be archived</td>
-        </tr> 
+        </tr>
+        <tr>
+          <td>maven.dist.src.include</td>
+          <td>yes</td>
+          <td>Comma delimited list of additional files which should be included in the source distribution</td>
+        </tr>
         <tr>
           <td>maven.dist.dir</td>
           <td>yes - default is ${maven.build.dir}/distributions</td>