diff --git a/AUTHORS b/AUTHORS
index 923d6e60081..a605cb2105e 100644
--- a/AUTHORS
+++ b/AUTHORS
@@ -160,6 +160,7 @@ answer newbie questions, and generally made Django that much better:
     Amit Upadhyay
     Geert Vanderkelen
     Milton Waddams
+    wam-djangobug@wamber.net
     Dan Watson <http://theidioteque.net/>
     Rachel Willmer <http://www.willmer.com/kb/>
     Gary Wilson <gary.wilson@gmail.com>
diff --git a/django/views/generic/simple.py b/django/views/generic/simple.py
index 325288d52f8..355bd25ef83 100644
--- a/django/views/generic/simple.py
+++ b/django/views/generic/simple.py
@@ -2,12 +2,18 @@ from django.shortcuts import render_to_response
 from django.template import RequestContext
 from django.http import HttpResponse, HttpResponsePermanentRedirect, HttpResponseGone
 
-def direct_to_template(request, template, **kwargs):
+def direct_to_template(request, template, extra_context={}, **kwargs):
     """
     Render a given template with any extra URL parameters in the context as
     ``{{ params }}``.
     """
-    return render_to_response(template, {'params' : kwargs}, context_instance=RequestContext(request))
+    dictionary = {'params': kwargs}
+    for key, value in extra_context.items():
+        if callable(value):
+            dictionary[key] = value()
+        else:
+            dictionary[key] = value
+    return render_to_response(template, dictionary, context_instance=RequestContext(request))
 
 def redirect_to(request, url, **kwargs):
     """
diff --git a/docs/generic_views.txt b/docs/generic_views.txt
index 99a9b7cf6b9..f0c3f738f30 100644
--- a/docs/generic_views.txt
+++ b/docs/generic_views.txt
@@ -92,6 +92,13 @@ which is a dictionary of the parameters captured in the URL.
 
     * ``template``: The full name of a template to use.
 
+**Optional arguments:**
+
+    * ``extra_context``: A dictionary of values to add to the template
+      context. By default, this is an empty dictionary. If a value in the
+      dictionary is callable, the generic view will call it
+      just before rendering the template.
+      
 **Example:**
 
 Given the following URL patterns::
@@ -171,7 +178,7 @@ a date in the *future* are not included unless you set ``allow_future`` to
       template. By default, it's ``django.template.loader``.
 
     * ``extra_context``: A dictionary of values to add to the template
-      context. By default, this is an empty dictionary.
+      context. By default, this is an empty dictionary. If a value in the
       dictionary is callable, the generic view will call it
       just before rendering the template.