function checkregex(object_value, regexPattern, required)
{
    if( required )
    {
        if( object_value.length == 0 )
        {
            return false;
        }
    }else{
        if( object_value.length == 0 )
        {
            return true;
        }
    }

	return regexPattern.test(object_value);
}

function checkEmail(object_value, required)
{
	//trim whitespace before we validate
    object_value = object_value.replace(/^\s+/,'').replace(/\s+$/,'');

    if( required )
    {
        if( object_value.length == 0 )
        {
            return false;
        }
    }else{
        if( object_value.length == 0 )
        {
            return true;
        }
    }

	return checkregex(object_value, /^[a-zA-Z_0-9-]+(\.[a-zA-Z_0-9-]+)*@([a-zA-Z_0-9-]+\.)+[a-zA-Z]{2,7}$/, required);
}