Channel Identification Software

I'm looking for some audio editing software that is able to interpret channels within an audio file and extract them.

For example If I had a song, the program would be able to detect and remove the vocals.

Is there a program out there that can do this? Or is it one of those things that just isn't possible. I figured with the intelligence of SoundForge for changing pitch, there must be another program that can identify channels.

Any ideas?