diff --git a/Module.py b/Module.py
index 669ff8d..86d3bbd 100644
--- a/Module.py
+++ b/Module.py
@@ -49,6 +49,12 @@ class Module(object):
         self.conn = sqlite3.connect(dbfile)
         self.conn.row_factory = sqlite3.Row
 
+        # setup regexp function in sqlite
+        def regexp(expr, item):
+            reg = re.compile(expr)
+            return reg.match(item) is not None
+        self.conn.create_function('REGEXP', 2, regexp)
+
         # set up database for this module
         self.db_init()