function newRequest() {
    var result;
    if (window.ActiveXObject) {
        try {
            result = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
        }
        catch (e) {
            try {
                result = new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.XMLHTTP");
            } catch (e) {
                result = false;
            }
        }
    }
    else {
        try {
            result = new XMLHttpRequest();
        }
        catch (e) {
            result = false;
        }
    }
    if (!result)
        alert("Error creating the XMLHttpRequest object.");
    return result;
}