--- a/genshi/util.py
+++ b/genshi/util.py
@@ -245,10 +245,15 @@
     return _STRIPTAGS_RE.sub('', text)
 
 SAFE_RANGE_MAX = 10000
-def safe_range(*args):
-    """Save version of a normal range."""
+def safe_xrange(*args):
+    """Save version of a normal xrange."""
     rng = xrange(*args)
     if len(rng) > SAFE_RANGE_MAX:
         raise ValueError('cannot generate ranges with more than %d items.' %
                          SAFE_RANGE_MAX)
-    return list(rng)
+    return rng
+
+
+def safe_range(*args):
+    """Save version of a normal range."""
+    return list(safe_xrange(*args))