function fadeTo(myElement,myTargetOpacity,mySecondsBetweenSteps) { //utility function to fade the selected element to the desired opacity
	if (typeof(autoFadeTimeoutID)!='undefined')
		clearTimeout(autoFadeTimeoutID);
	
	targetElement=document.getElementById(myElement);
	if (typeof(targetElement.opacityPercent)=='undefined')
		targetElement.opacityPercent=targetElement.style.opacity*1;
	
	stepSize=Math.round(Math.abs(targetElement.opacityPercent-myTargetOpacity)/2);
	if (targetElement.opacityPercent>myTargetOpacity)
		stepSize=stepSize*-1;
	newOpacity=targetElement.opacityPercent+stepSize;
	targetElement.opacityPercent=newOpacity;
	
	targetElement.style.opacity=newOpacity/100;
	if (document.all)
		targetElement.style.filter='alpha(opacity: '+newOpacity+')';
	
	if (newOpacity!=myTargetOpacity)
		autoFadeTimeoutID=setTimeout("fadeTo('"+myElement+"',"+myTargetOpacity+","+mySecondsBetweenSteps+")",1000*mySecondsBetweenSteps);
}