ssi problem

Could anyone please shed some light on the following issue? I have a problem with including a "test.php" into a "test.shtml" and passing a variable to the "test.shtml" which should be available and processed in the "test.php" the "test.php" document includes the following: ----------------------------------------------------------- <?php if ($HTTP_GET_VARS['theValue']) { print $HTTP_GET_VARS['theValue']; } else { print" <form method=\"GET\" action=\"test.shtml\"> <input type=\"text\" name=\"theValue\" size=\"20\"> <input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" name=\"submit_button\"> </form> "; } ?> the "test.shtml" document includes the following: ------------------------------------------------------------- <html> <head> <title>poll</title> </head> <body> <!--#include virtual="test.php" --> </body> </html> I've also tried using the POST method but I got an error stating that post is not a valid method in shtml. I have also considered a session variable but since a session needs to initiated or continued before anything is output to the browser that wont work (I think). does anyone have a solution to get this to work? thanks, Hans