Hint: to avoid international issues, use yyyy-mm-dd ( that's how we date internal PH files

)
In Brazil we use dd/mm/yyyy
In USA they use mm/dd/yyyy
Personally, I find US format not the best one around. Still, I think both sucks for sorting. yyyy-mm-dd is the best to go, at least for development purposes and easy international comprehension.
PS: my class is so boring right now, I'm posting random stuff on SF forums... Oh crap... :p