--- dokuwiki-2011-05-25a/lib/plugins/htmlcomment/syntax.php	2005-10-09 11:31:47.000000000 +1300
+++ dokuwiki/lib/plugins/htmlcomment/syntax.php	2012-01-20 14:03:27.078084422 +1300
@@ -41,15 +41,24 @@
     }
 
     function connectTo($mode) {
-        $this->Lexer->addSpecialPattern("<\!--.*?-->", $mode,
-          'plugin_htmlcomment');
+        $this->Lexer->addSpecialPattern("<\!--.*?-->", $mode, 'plugin_htmlcomment');
+        $this->Lexer->addSpecialPattern("%\!--.*?--%", $mode, 'plugin_htmlcomment');
+        $this->Lexer->addSpecialPattern("<br/>", $mode, 'plugin_htmlcomment');
     }
 
     function handle($match, $state, $pos, &$handler) {
         if ($state == DOKU_LEXER_SPECIAL) {
-             // strip <!-- from start and --> from end
-            $match = substr($match,4,-3);
-            return array($state, $match);
+          if ($match == '<br/>')
+          {
+            return array('newline',$match);
+          }
+          if (strpos($match, '%!--') !== false)
+          {
+            $state = 'displaycomment';
+          }
+          // strip <!-- from start and --> from end
+          $match = substr($match,4,-3);
+          return array($state, $match);
         }
         return array();
     }
@@ -57,14 +66,31 @@
     function render($mode, &$renderer, $data) {
         if ($mode == 'xhtml') {
             list($state, $match) = $data;
-            if ($state == DOKU_LEXER_SPECIAL) {
-                $renderer->doc .= '<!--';
-                if (HTMLCOMMENT_SAFE) {
-                    $renderer->doc .= $renderer->_xmlEntities($match);
-                } else {
-                    $renderer->doc .= $match;
-                }
-                $renderer->doc .= '-->';
+            if ($state == 'newline')
+            {
+              $renderer->doc .= $match;
+              return true;
+            }
+            if ($state == 'displaycomment')
+            {
+              $renderer->doc .= '&lt;!--';
+            }
+            else
+            {
+              $renderer->doc .= '<!--';
+            }
+            if (HTMLCOMMENT_SAFE) {
+              $renderer->doc .= $renderer->_xmlEntities($match);
+            } else {
+              $renderer->doc .= $match;
+            }
+            if ($state == 'displaycomment')
+            {
+              $renderer->doc .= '--&gt;';
+            }
+            else
+            {
+              $renderer->doc .= '-->';
             }
             return true;
         }