"Automation server can't create object" error with activex jscript

i am trying to use mscomm in html and javascript to communicate with a device over the serial port but when i run a test of the activex object in a .hta file i get the error "Automation server can't create object". does anybody know why its doing this?
it gives the error on the line with var mscomm = new activex.........

<OBJECT classid="clsid:648A5600-2C6E-101B-82B6-000000000014" id="MSComm1" CodeBase="mscomm32.ocx" type="application/x-oleobject" style ="display: none">
<PARAM NAME="_ExtentX" VALUE="1005">
<PARAM NAME="_ExtentY" VALUE="1005">
<PARAM NAME="_Version" VALUE="393216">
<PARAM NAME="CommPort" VALUE="1">
<PARAM NAME="DTREnable" VALUE="1">
<PARAM NAME="Handshaking" VALUE="0">
<PARAM NAME="InBufferSize" VALUE="1024">
<PARAM NAME="InputLen" VALUE="0">
<PARAM NAME="NullDiscard" VALUE="0">
<PARAM NAME="OutBufferSize" VALUE="512">
<PARAM NAME="ParityReplace" VALUE="63">
<PARAM NAME="RThreshold" VALUE="0">
<PARAM NAME="RTSEnable" VALUE="0">
<PARAM NAME="BaudRate" VALUE="9600">
<PARAM NAME="ParitySetting" VALUE="0">
<PARAM NAME="DataBits" VALUE="8">
<PARAM NAME="StopBits" VALUE="0">
<PARAM NAME="SThreshold" VALUE="0">
<PARAM NAME="EOFEnable" VALUE="0">
<PARAM NAME="InputMode" VALUE="0">
</OBJECT>

<script >
var msComm1 = new ActiveXObject("MSComm1Lib.MSComm.1");
var test = msComm1.CommPort;

</script>

any help is greatly appreciated