Wild Card String Comparison

[W. eWatson]

Is it possible to do a search for a wild card string in another string. For 
example, I'd like to find "v*.dat" in a string called bingo. v must be 
matched against only the first character in bingo, and not simply found 
somewhere in bingo, as might be the case for "*v*.dat".
-- 
            Wayne Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)

              (121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
               Obz Site:  39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

                     Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>