$(function () {
// IE6 doesn't handle the fade effect very well - so we'll stick with
// the default non JavaScript version if that is the user's browser.
if ($.browser.msie && $.browser.version < 7) return;
$('#navigation li')
// remove the 'highlight' class from the li therefore stripping 
// the :hover rule
.removeClass('highlight')
// within the context of the li element, find the a elements
.find('a')
// create our new span.hover and loop through anchor:
.append('<span class="hover" />').each(function () {
// cache a copy of the span, at the same time changing the opacity
// to zero in preparation of the page being loaded
var $span = $('> span.hover', this).css('opacity', 0);
// when the user hovers in and out of the anchor
$(this).hover(function () {
// on hover
// stop any animations currently running, and fade to opacity: 1
$span.stop().fadeTo(500, 1);
}, function () {
// off hover
// again, stop any animations currently running, and fade out
$span.stop().fadeTo(500, 0);
});
});
});