function stars(rating,imagesrc,maxrating) {
     var ratingstring = "<p style='height: 21px; margin: 0; padding: 0;'>";

     // make sure there are enough stars, unless we explicitly define the max
     if (! maxrating){
        maxrating = Math.max(rating,5);
     }

     // if no source directory is specified, use 'pwd'
     if(! imagesrc){
        imagesrc = '';
     }

     // display the stars
     for (i=0;i<maxrating;i++){
        if(rating > 0.5){
                ratingstring = ratingstring + "<img src=" + imagesrc + "fleurdelis-icon-full.gif>";
                rating = rating - 1;
        }
        else if (rating > 0){
                ratingstring = ratingstring + "<img src=" + imagesrc + "fleurdelis-icon-half.gif>";
                rating = rating - 0.5;
        }
        else {
                ratingstring = ratingstring + "<img src=" + imagesrc + "fleurdelis-icon-none.gif>";
        }
     }
     ratingstring = ratingstring + "</p>";
     return (ratingstring);
}