diff --git a/Network/AMQP.hs b/Network/AMQP.hs
--- a/Network/AMQP.hs
+++ b/Network/AMQP.hs
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@
     -- * Connection
     Connection,
     openConnection,
+    openConnection',
     closeConnection,
    
     -- * Channel
@@ -327,7 +328,7 @@
             
             --TODO: add more of these to 'Message'
             (CHBasic
-            Nothing
+            (fmap ShortString $ msgContentType msg)
             Nothing
             Nothing
             (fmap deliveryModeToInt $ msgDeliveryMode msg) -- delivery_mode 
@@ -473,13 +474,14 @@
                 msgBody :: BL.ByteString, -- ^ the content of your message
                 msgDeliveryMode :: Maybe DeliveryMode, -- ^ see 'DeliveryMode'
                 msgTimestamp :: Maybe Timestamp, -- ^ use in any way you like; this doesn't affect the way the message is handled
-                msgID :: Maybe String -- ^ use in any way you like; this doesn't affect the way the message is handled
+                msgID :: Maybe String, -- ^ use in any way you like; this doesn't affect the way the message is handled
+                msgContentType :: Maybe String                
                 }
     deriving Show
 
 -- | a 'Msg' with defaults set; you should override at least 'msgBody'
 newMsg :: Message    
-newMsg = Message (BL.empty) Nothing Nothing Nothing    
+newMsg = Message (BL.empty) Nothing Nothing Nothing Nothing
 
 ------------- ASSEMBLY -------------------------    
 -- an assembly is a higher-level object consisting of several frames (like in amqp 0-10)
@@ -572,11 +574,16 @@
 --
 -- NOTE: If the login name, password or virtual host are invalid, this method will throw a 'ConnectionClosedException'. The exception will not contain a reason why the connection was closed, so you'll have to find out yourself.
 openConnection :: String -> String -> String -> String -> IO Connection           
-openConnection host vhost loginName loginPassword = do
+openConnection host vhost loginName loginPassword =
+  openConnection' host 5672 vhost loginName loginPassword
+
+-- | same as 'openConnection' but allows you to specify a non-default port-number as the 2nd parameter  
+openConnection' :: String -> PortNumber -> String -> String -> String -> IO Connection
+openConnection' host port vhost loginName loginPassword = do
     proto <- getProtocolNumber "tcp"
     sock <- socket AF_INET Stream proto
     addr <- inet_addr host
-    connect sock (SockAddrInet 5672 addr)
+    connect sock (SockAddrInet port addr)
     NB.send sock $ toStrict $ BPut.runPut $ do
         BPut.putByteString $ BS.pack "AMQP"
         BPut.putWord8 1
@@ -717,8 +724,12 @@
             case message_id of 
                 (Just (ShortString s)) -> Just s
                 _ -> Nothing
+        contentType =
+            case content_type of
+                (Just (ShortString s)) -> Just s
+                _ -> Nothing
         in
-            Message msgBody (fmap intToDeliveryMode delivery_mode) timestamp msgId 
+            Message msgBody (fmap intToDeliveryMode delivery_mode) timestamp msgId contentType
     
 -- | The thread that is run for every channel
 channelReceiver :: Channel -> IO ()
diff --git a/amqp.cabal b/amqp.cabal
--- a/amqp.cabal
+++ b/amqp.cabal
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 Name:                amqp
-Version:             0.1.1
+Version:             0.1.2
 Synopsis:            Client library for AMQP servers (currently only RabbitMQ)
 Description:         Client library for AMQP servers (currently only RabbitMQ)
 License:             BSD3