var http = createRequestObject();

// create an XMLHttpRequest object
function createRequestObject()
{
        //declare the variable to hold the object.
        var request_o = false;

	// branch for native XMLHttpRequest object
	if(window.XMLHttpRequest) {
		try {
			request_o = new XMLHttpRequest();
		} catch(e) {
			request_o = false;
		}

	// branch for IE/Windows ActiveX version
	} else if(window.ActiveXObject) {
		try {
			request_o = new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.XMLHTTP");
		} catch(e) {
			try {
				request_o = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
			} catch(e) {
				request_o = false;
			}
		}
	}
	
        //return the object
        return request_o;
}