diff --git a/pelican/readers.py b/pelican/readers.py
index c597ff8d..4c8acd2a 100644
--- a/pelican/readers.py
+++ b/pelican/readers.py
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ class MarkdownReader(Reader):
     def read(self, filename):
         """Parse content and metadata of markdown files"""
         text = open(filename)
-        md = Markdown(extensions = ['meta', 'codehilite'])
+        md = Markdown(extensions = ['meta', 'codehilite', 'extra'])
         content = md.convert(text)
 
         metadata = {}