diff --git a/src/mu-msg-data.c b/src/mu-msg-data.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1fbac906
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mu-msg-data.c
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+/*
+** Copyright (C) 2011 Dirk-Jan C. Binnema <djcb@djcbsoftware.nl>
+**
+** This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+** under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
+** Free Software Foundation; either version 3, or (at your option) any
+** later version.
+**
+** This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+** but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+** MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+** GNU General Public License for more details.
+**
+** You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+** along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
+** Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
+**
+*/
+
+#include "mu-msg-data.h"
+
+MuMsgData*
+mu_msg_data_new (void)
+{
+	/* TODO: check if this is much slower than g_slice_new */
+	return g_slice_new0 (MuMsgData);
+}
+
+MuMsgData*
+mu_msg_data_copy (MuMsgData *mdata)
+{
+	MuMsgData *copy;
+	
+	if (!mdata)
+		return NULL;
+	
+	copy = mu_msg_data_new ();
+
+	/* shallow copy */
+	memcpy (copy, mdata, sizeof(MuMsgData));
+
+	/* now, deep copy ptr data */
+	copy->cc      = g_strdup (mdata->cc);
+	copy->from    = g_strdup (mdata->from);
+	copy->maildir = g_strdup (mdata->maildir);
+	copy->msgid   = g_strdup (mdata->msgid);
+	copy->path    = g_strdup (mdata->path);
+	copy->subject = g_strdup (mdata->subject);
+	copy->to      = g_strdup (mdata->to);
+
+	return copy;
+}
+
+void
+mu_msg_data_destroy (MuMsgData *mdata)
+{
+	if (!mdata)
+		return;
+
+	g_free (mdata->cc);
+	g_free (mdata->from);
+	g_free (mdata->maildir);
+	g_free (mdata->msgid);
+	g_free (mdata->path);
+	g_free (mdata->subject);
+	g_free (mdata->to);
+
+	g_slice_free (MuMsgData, mdata);
+}
diff --git a/src/mu-msg-data.h b/src/mu-msg-data.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..83b3ba2d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mu-msg-data.h
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+/*
+** Copyright (C) 2011 Dirk-Jan C. Binnema <djcb@djcbsoftware.nl>
+**
+** This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+** under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
+** Free Software Foundation; either version 3, or (at your option) any
+** later version.
+**
+** This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+** but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+** MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+** GNU General Public License for more details.
+**
+** You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+** along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
+** Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
+**
+*/
+
+#ifndef __MU_MSG_DATA_H__
+#define __MU_MSG_DATA_H__
+
+#include <time.h>
+#include <glib.h>
+#include <mu-msg-flags.h>
+#include <mu-msg-prio.h>
+
+G_BEGIN_DECLS
+
+/* data structure for saving the data in a MuMsgIter */
+struct _MuMsgData {
+
+	char		*cc;
+	char		*from;
+	char		*maildir;
+	char		*msgid;
+	char		*path;
+	char		*subject;
+	char		*to;
+	
+	size_t		 size;
+	time_t		 date;
+	MuMsgFlags	 flags;
+	MuMsgPrio	 prio;	
+};
+typedef struct _MuMsgData MuMsgData;
+
+
+/** 
+ * create an _unitialized_ MuMsgData structure, ie. you still need to
+ * initialize the struct members. Free with mu_msg_data_destroy
+ * 
+ * 
+ * @return a newly allocated MuMsgData struct
+ */
+MuMsgData* mu_msg_data_new (void) G_GNUC_WARN_UNUSED_RESULT;
+
+/** 
+ * free the MuMsgData structure
+ * 
+ * @param mdata a mu msg data structure, or NULL
+ */
+void mu_msg_data_destroy (MuMsgData *mdata);
+
+
+/** 
+ * (deep)copy a MuMsgData structure
+ * 
+ * @param mdata a mu msg data structure or NULL 
+ * 
+ * @return a copy, or NULL (free with mu_msg_data_destroy)
+ */
+MuMsgData* mu_msg_data_copy (MuMsgData *mdata);
+
+
+G_END_DECLS
+
+#endif /*__MU_MSG_DATA_H__*/