function activateMenu()	{

	/* check the browser is capable of recognising the DOM objects
	   we need to implement the script - otherwise return false and allow the normal link to be executed */
	   
	if(!document.getElementsByTagName) return false;
	if(!document.getElementById) return false;
	if(!document.getElementById("mainMenu")) return false;
	

	var dropDowns = document.getElementById("mainMenu").getElementsByTagName("li"); 
	var thisElement
	var children	
			
	
	if (dropDowns.length > 0) {
			for(i = 0; i < dropDowns.length; i++) {


						if (dropDowns[i].className == "mainitem") {
												
	
												dropDowns[i].onmouseover = function() {
														
													    this.firstChild.style.color = "#44B2FF"
														swapBackground(this)
														//alert(this.firstChild.firstChild.nodeName)
											
													}
													
														dropDowns[i].onmouseout = function() {
															
															this.firstChild.style.color = "#FFFFFF"
															noSwapBackground(this)
											
														}													
													
												
																		
						}
																															
			}
			
	}	   
	
}