xml_string="<root><outline url='&'/></root>"
doc= REXML::Document.new( xml_string, {:raw => :all} )
outline = doc.root.elements[1]
url = outline.attribute("url") # raw text!
url = outline.attributes["url"] # escaped text!
solution is: use attribute("xx") instead of attributes["xx"].
p.s. How I want to use LibXML and say goodbye to REXML....