pseudo class question

[johnnyblotter]

Hi folks, I'm having a bit of trouble setting up pseudo classes for my a element...this works in FF but not IE. I'm sure it's a simple remedy...here's the code. I've tried variations (.left:hover, etc.) but can't get it to work in IE...the background image simply dissappears.

a.left:hover {
background:url(images/colorleft.gif);
color:white;
text-decoration:none;
}

<div id="navy">
<a class="left" href="work.html">Wos</a>
<a class="right"href="life.html">Life</a>
<a class="bottom" href="home.html">Home</a>
</div>

[gil davis]

Here is a comment from the Microsoft site on pseudo styles:

Note The order of pseudo-classes is important. For example, the style rule for :hover must occur after any :link rule or any :visited rule to prevent the pseudo-classes from hiding each other.

Could this be the problem?