title: Is it valid to set img src="about:blank"?
body: <p>Background: I need to have an <em>inline</em> element to which I can apply width and height via CSS.
  AFAIK, img is the only way to have this behavior, currently.</p>
  
  <p>I would rather not have the image point to a transparent pixel GIF on the server. It may be cached, but browsers queue it nevertheless, slowing down overall page speed. Other clients might not be caching at all.</p>
  
  <p><strong>PS</strong> No, floating div is not sufficient, it behaves differently from inline elements.</p>
  
  <p><strong>EDIT</strong> Sorry, I should have inserted the term "cross browser" somewhere. It must at least be working for FF&ge;2, IE&ge;7 and current Safari.</p>