date problem in MySQL DB

Hi guys This might be slightly off topic but hopefully someone can help. I have a field that is a varchar and I stored dates in it. But now I want to change the type of the column to date, but I have a problem that the formats differ: my format: mm/dd/yyyy mySQL format: yyyy-mm-dd So can I either: a. change the format of the date format or b. do i have to write a function that changes my format to the mySQL before changing the column type?? TIA Angelo Zanetti -------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer This e-mail transmission contains confidential information, which is the property of the sender. The information in this e-mail or attachments thereto is intended for the attention and use only of the addressee. Should you have received this e-mail in error, please delete and destroy it and any attachments thereto immediately. Under no circumstances will the Cape Technikon or the sender of this e-mail be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, special or other consequential damages for any use of this e-mail. For the detailed e-mail disclaimer please refer to http://www.ctech.ac.za/polic or call +27 (0)21 460 3911