diff --git a/scrapy/tests/test_serialization.py b/scrapy/tests/test_serialization.py
deleted file mode 100644
index db60f8673..000000000
--- a/scrapy/tests/test_serialization.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,33 +0,0 @@
-from twisted.trial import unittest
-
-class SerializationTest(unittest.TestCase):
-
-    def setUp(self):
-        try:
-            import json
-        except ImportError:
-            try:
-                import simplejson
-            except ImportError, e:
-                raise unittest.SkipTest(e)
-
-    def test_string_serialization(self):
-        """Test simple string serialization"""
-        from scrapy.utils.serialization import serialize, unserialize, serialize_funcs
-
-        s = "string to serialize"
-        for format in serialize_funcs.iterkeys():
-            self.assertEqual(s, unserialize(serialize(s)))
-
-    def test_dict_serialization(self):
-        """Test dict serialization"""
-        from scrapy.utils.serialization import serialize, unserialize, serialize_funcs
-
-        # using only string keys/values since it's the only data type that
-        # works with all serializers
-        d = {'one': 'item one', 'two': 'item two'}
-        for format in serialize_funcs.iterkeys():
-            self.assertEqual(d, unserialize(serialize(d)))
-        
-if __name__ == "__main__":
-    unittest.main()
diff --git a/scrapy/utils/serialization.py b/scrapy/utils/serialization.py
deleted file mode 100644
index e085df360..000000000
--- a/scrapy/utils/serialization.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,78 +0,0 @@
-"""
-This module provides a universal API for different serialization formats.
-
-Keep in mind that not all formats support all types for serialization, and some
-formats (like pprint) may be unsafe for unserialization (like pprint) but it
-may still very convenient for serialization.
-"""
-
-import datetime
-import decimal
-import cPickle as pickle
-import pprint
-
-try:
-    import json
-except ImportError:
-    import simplejson as json
-
-
-class ScrapyJSONEncoder(json.JSONEncoder):
-    """
-    JSONEncoder subclass that knows how to encode date/time and decimal types.
-    """
-
-    DATE_FORMAT = "%Y-%m-%d"
-    TIME_FORMAT = "%H:%M:%S"
-
-    def default(self, o):
-        if isinstance(o, datetime.datetime):
-            return o.strftime("%s %s" % (self.DATE_FORMAT, self.TIME_FORMAT))
-        elif isinstance(o, datetime.date):
-            return o.strftime(self.DATE_FORMAT)
-        elif isinstance(o, datetime.time):
-            return o.strftime(self.TIME_FORMAT)
-        elif isinstance(o, decimal.Decimal):
-            return str(o)
-        else:
-            return super(ScrapyJSONEncoder, self).default(o)
-
-serialize_funcs = {
-    'json': lambda obj: json.dumps(obj, cls=ScrapyJSONEncoder),
-    'pprint': lambda obj: pprint.pformat(obj),
-    'pickle': lambda obj: pickle.dumps(obj),
-}
-
-unserialize_funcs = {
-    'json': lambda text: json.loads(text),
-    'pprint': lambda text: eval(text),
-    'pickle': lambda text: pickle.loads(text),
-}
-
-def serialize(obj, format='pickle'):
-    """
-    Main entrance point for serialization.
-
-    Supported formats: pickle, json, pprint
-    """
-    try:
-        func = serialize_funcs[format]
-        return func(obj)
-    except KeyError:
-        raise TypeError("Unknown serialization format: %s" % format)
-
-def unserialize(text, format='pickle'):
-    """
-    Main entrance point for unserialization.
-    """
-    try:
-        func = unserialize_funcs[format]
-        return func(text)
-    except KeyError:
-        raise TypeError("Unknown serialization format: %s" % format)
-
-def parse_jsondatetime(text):
-    if isinstance(text, basestring):
-        return datetime.datetime.strptime(text, "%s %s" % \
-               (ScrapyJSONEncoder.DATE_FORMAT, ScrapyJSONEncoder.TIME_FORMAT))
-