Need Value Associated With SelectedIndex

I'm trying to get the value associated with a selected index in a drop down list.

Here's an example:


HTML Code:
<select name='elem'>
<option id=&#39100;' value='Hello' name='hello' />
<option id=&#39200;' value='Hello' name='hello' />
</select>
My Javascript is as follows - THIS CODE DISPLAYS CONTINUOUS VALUES: 1,2,3...

Code:
alert(elem.options.selectedIndex);
If I were to use the following, I'd get 'undefined' alerts

Code:
alert(elem.options.selectedIndex.value);
The thing is I need the value, not the index.

Any ideas/references?