diff --git a/resources/functions.php b/resources/functions.php
index b37ceea854..ba460c1a31 100644
--- a/resources/functions.php
+++ b/resources/functions.php
@@ -950,4 +950,16 @@ function number_pad($number,$n) {
 	return str_pad((int) $number,$n,"0",STR_PAD_LEFT);
 }
 
+// validate email address syntax
+if(!function_exists('validate_email')) {
+	function valid_email($email) {
+		$regex = '/^[A-z0-9][\w.-]*@[A-z0-9][\w\-\.]+\.[A-z0-9]{2,6}$/';
+		if ($email != "" && preg_match($regex, $email) == 0) {
+			return false; // email address does not have valid syntax
+		}
+		else {
+			return true; // email address has valid syntax
+		}
+	}
+}
 ?>