[math-fun] Need a distribution

For a work project, I need a 1D continuous distribution that is like a Gaussian in that it has a "bulge" and "tails", but also has skewness (i.e. the two tails can independently drop off slowly or quickly). I would expect this distribution to have at least 3 parameters (e.g. mean, variance, and skewness). I need the equation for the density function and a way to choose parameters for a distribution to fit a set of data points. Any pointers from the more statistically fluent would be greatly appreciated. I am copying to seqfan, in hopes of possibly snagging some help there, apologies. Please reply to dwilson at ltk.com. Thanks in advance.