What does *width:auto mean in CSS?

Question

Can anyone please tell me what does

*width:auto;

mean in css?

For example:

div.ReportingControls dd
{
    width:450px;
    *width:auto;
}

Thanks

Answer 1

It's a CSS hack to target Internet Explorer 7 and below. And it's not recommended to use in the real world.

Answer 2

This is a CSS hack for IE. Only IE7 and below will use width auto, instead of 450px;.

Per Microsoft use conditional comments instead of this kind of hack.

Answer 3

I think it is some kind of trick for browser compatibility as explained in this blog