function makeRequest(xhrLink,xhrLoading) {
  var returnResult;
  var xhr = false;
  var loadingArea = xhrLoading;
  
  if (window.XMLHttpRequest) {
    xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
  }
  else {
    if (window.ActiveXObject) {
      try {
        xhr = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
      }
        catch (e) { }
    }
  }
  if (xhr) {
    var outLoading = "<img src='../imgs/misc/load.gif' />Loading..."
    document.getElementById(loadingArea).innerHTML = outLoading;
    xhr.open("GET", xhrLink, false);
    xhr.send(null);
    returnResult = xhr.responseText;
  }
  else {
    document.getElementById(loadingArea).innerHTML = "Sorry, but I couldn't create an XMLHttpRequest";
  } 
  if (returnResult) {
    document.getElementById(loadingArea).innerHTML = "";
    return returnResult;
  }
}