is there a way in php  

to declare a class using a variable  

ie (this doesnt work - but its here to give you an idea of my intention):

```
$myname = "the_class";
class $myname {
 ...
}

```

i also tried:

```
define("MYNAME","the_class");
class MYNAME{
 ...
}

```

and i tried:

```
$myname = "the_class";
class $$myname {
 ...
}

```

this doesnt really help:  

<http://php.net/manual/en/language.variables.scope.php>

nor does this:  

<http://us3.php.net/manual/en/keyword.class.php>

thanks very much for your help