function GetXmlHttpObject() {  
    var is_ie = (navigator.userAgent.indexOf('MSIE') >= 0) ? 1 : 0;  
    var is_ie5 = (navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 5.5")!=-1) ? 1 : 0;  
    var is_opera = ((navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Opera6")!=-1)||(navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Opera/6")!=-1)) ? 1 : 0;  
    //netscape, safari, mozilla behave the same???  
    var is_netscape = (navigator.userAgent.indexOf('Netscape') >= 0) ? 1 : 0;  
 
    var objXmlHttp = null;    //Holds the local xmlHTTP object instance  
 
    //Depending on the browser, try to create the xmlHttp object  
    if (is_ie){  
        //The object to create depends on version of IE  
        //If it isn't ie5, then default to the Msxml2.XMLHTTP object  
        var strObjName = (is_ie5) ? 'Microsoft.XMLHTTP' : 'Msxml2.XMLHTTP';  
           
        //Attempt to create the object  
        try{  
            objXmlHttp = new ActiveXObject(strObjName);  
            //objXmlHttp.onreadystatechange = handler;  
        }  
        catch(e){  
        //Object creation errored  
            alert('IE detected, but object could not be created. Verify that active scripting and activeX controls are enabled');  
            return;  
        }  
    }  
    else if (is_opera){  
        //Opera has some issues with xmlHttp object functionality  
        alert('Opera detected. The page may not behave as expected.');  
        return;  
    }  
    else{  
        // Mozilla | Netscape | Safari  
        objXmlHttp = new XMLHttpRequest();  
        // objXmlHttp.onload = handler;  
        // objXmlHttp.onerror = handler;  
    }  
       
    //Return the instantiated object  
    return objXmlHttp;  
}