var reg = new RegExp("\w*\s*\w*", "gmi"); var searchElem; var textNodes; searchElem = 'mooo hhhh'; if(!searchElem) { alert('No searchElem'); return; } else { alert('Some searchElem'); } if (reg.exec(searchElem)) alert(searchElem + " is a valid e-mail address!") else alert(searchElem + " is an invalid e-mail address!"); return;