Pass wildcards in string to mysql

[srailsback]

Is it possible to pass wildcards in strings to MySQL rather than putting the wildcards before/after the string in the MySQL statement?

I have a search form that allows the user to search for organizations by keword or by selecting the letter. Keyword and letter are set to $value. Keyword is submitted using a form and letter is a url link.

Here's the current statement:
$query = "SELECT * from table WHERE field LIKE '%$value%' ORDER BY name"
For a letter query I use '$value%'

Any thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

[csn]

Regular expressions?