thanks Ray.
i'll try that and i'll let you know if it works
do you think that is the best option I have ?
(The supreme option would be to sit the footer at the bottom of the screen, or the bottom of the page, whichever is longer, but if the transparent gif (or other option) works as you suggested, that'll be great.
UPDATE
The transparent gif, floated left, set within the content div seems to work. Thanks for your help.