gistfile1.php

<?php

function ping($host, $port=25565, $timeout=30) {
	//Set up our socket
	$fp = fsockopen($host, $port, $errno, $errstr, $timeout);
	if (!$fp) return false;
	
	//Send 0xFE: Server list ping
	fwrite($fp, "\xFE");
	fwrite($fp, "\x00");
	
	//Read as much data as we can (max packet size: 241 bytes)
	$d = fread($fp, 256);
	
	//Check we've got a 0xFF Disconnect
	if ($d[0] != "\xFF") return false;
	
	//Remove the packet ident (0xFF) and the short containing the length of the string
	$d = substr($d, 3);
	
	//Decode UCS-2 string
	$d = mb_convert_encoding($d, 'auto', 'UCS-2');
	
	//Split into array
	$d = explode("\x00", $d);
	
	//Return an associative array of values
	return array(
		'protocol_version': intval($d[1]),
        'minecraft_version':    $d[2],
        'motd'        =>        $d[3],
		'players'     => intval($d[4]),
		'max_players' => intval($d[5]));
}

?>