Special Character Problem

[eluser]manash007[/eluser]
i am posting as $_POST method in AJAX......
ya i m talking about MySQL.......

$test = htmlspecialchars($_POST['posted_value']); // ex: $test = Ü;
When i am running query.... insert into table(column_name) values("$test");

but it inserts into mysql another value... neither Ü nor Ü

i've also tried without htmlspecialchars. but it wont work.....
how can i fix this??