function number_of_accounts($auth_user)
{
  // get the number of accounts that belong to this user
  
  $query = "select count(*) from accounts where username = '$auth_user'";

  if(db_connect())
  {
    $result = mysql_query($query);
      if($result)
        return mysql_result($result, 0, 0);
  }
  return 0;
}