(function($){
	$.preloadImages = function(){ 
		if( ! window.preloadedImages ) { 
			window.preloadedImages = []; 
		}; 
		
		var retVal = []; 
		
		$(arguments[0]).each(function(){ 
			retVal.push( $("<img />").attr("src", this) ); 
		}); 
		
		$.merge( window.preloadedImages, retVal ); 
		return retVal;  
	};
})(jQuery);
// function to pre load the images