XML server-side?

Hi.

Hope I’ve hit the correct forum.
My question is, can server-side .asc files load and read XML files?
I got the process to do this in AS3, but naturally that’s an .as file, not an .asc file.

The reason I am asking is that I want client-side to input and send login-details to server-side, server-side loads and reads XML file containing this data, matches it, and either accepts or rejects the connection.

Is there a way to make it read an XML file? Or do I have to write a standalone .as file as a manager for doing this? And if so, how do I make the server-side .asc file “include” this manager to make use of its XML-reading and processing functions?

Regards,
slhm1