function val_email(strText) { 

	//have to split regex to work on older browsers

	//email must satisfy the following.
	//* begin with alphanumeric character
	//* must be a @ after the initial characters
	//* must be alphanumerics and period after @, can contain -
	//* must end with 2 to 4 alphabetic characters

  var emailPattern = /^[a-zA-Z0-9._-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,4}$/;
  return emailPattern.test(strText); 

}