how to validate email in textbox??

how to validate email in textbox??

if email id like m//@gmail.com or m--@gmail.com not bale to validate it??
how to do that. plz suggest
function checkEmail() {
            //  alert("email");
            var email = document.getElementById('txtEmail');
            var filter = /^([a-zA-Z0-9_\.\-])+\@(([a-zA-Z0-9\-])+\.)+([a-zA-Z0-9]{2,4})+$/;

            if (!filter.test(email.value)) {
                alert('Please provide a valid email address');
                email.focus;
                return false;
            }
above function is not working