Checking for valid login

Hi there. I have a problem with PHP and mysql. I have users stored with a username and a password in my mysql db when i try to do a check for a valid u/p match i always get an error. I have password stored in the db using the mysql password()function. When i want to test for an entered password in an HTML form it does not allow me to do a check. This is my code. $check="select * from userinfo where username='$testusername' and password=password($'testpassword')"; Is it not possible to do a test on the html password in the query. If that is the case how can i retrieve the password stored in the db decrypted to check if it is the same as entered in the HTML form. I appreciate any help Lars Eirik Rønning