/^([\w ]+?)\s+:.(\d+)/
or /^([\w ]+?)\s+:.'(.*)'/
or /^([\w ]+?)\s+:.>(.*)</
or /^([\w ]+?)(.*?)/         # no value
or next;                     # I'm assuming this is in a loop somewhere

$$ref_entry{$1} = $2 || 'default value here';
print "TEST   $1 ==> $2\n";