- simplexml_load_string: documentation ( source)
<?php
$str = '<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<settings>
<background_color>#000000</background_color>
<show_context_menu>yes</show_context_menu>
<image>
<thumb_path>210x245.png</thumb_path>
<big_image_path>620x930.png</big_image_path>
</image>
<image>
<thumb_path>200x295.png</thumb_path>
<big_image_path>643x950.png</big_image_path>
</image>
<show_context_menu>yes</show_context_menu>
<image>
<thumb_path>200x295.png</thumb_path>
<big_image_path>643x950.png</big_image_path>
</image>
</settings>';
$xml = simplexml_load_string($str);
unset($xml->image);
$xml->asXML('php://output');