custom style for links inside <div> not working

[mental]

I am stuck on something that seems very simple but I must be missing some minor detail.I have this div:\[code\]<div id="menu" class="menu_div"><a href="http://stackoverflow.com/">HOME</a> | <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/pics.php">PICTURES</a></div>\[/code\]And the following inside the style tags\[code\].menu_div { background-color: #FFFFFF; border:1px solid black; width: 900px; a:link {color:#000000; text-decoration:none;} /* unvisited link */ a:visited {color:#000000; text-decoration:none;} /* visited link */ a:hover {color:#FF0000; text-decoration:none;} /* mouse over link */ a:active {color:#FF0000; text-decoration:none;} /* selected link */}\[/code\]Everything works except the links. I tried other combinations like .menu_div a:hover etc, nothing seems to work, any idea why?Thanks