//create and set cookie to expire after an hour
function createCookie(name, value){
var now = new Date();
var time = now.getTime();
time += 3600 * 1000;
now.setTime(time);
document.cookie =
    name  +'=' + value + 
    '; expires=' + now.toGMTString() +
    '; path=/';

}

function cookieExists(name) {
	var nameEQ = name + "=";
	var ca = document.cookie.split(';');
	for(var i=0;i < ca.length;i++) {
		var c = ca[i];
		while (c.charAt(0)==' ') c = c.substring(1,c.length);
		if (c.indexOf(nameEQ) == 0) return true;
	}
	return false;
}