How to get access to Java code?

Hi,

I'm using xulrunner on a Linux box (Suse) which needs to have XPCom
access to other modules. C++ side of things is going well, but I can't
seem to access my (extensive legacy code that I'd really rather not
re-write!) Java classes. From what I understand, I can't use XPConnect
with XPCom objects written in Java yet. Instead, I've just been trying
to include my Java through an applet on a linked HTML page, which gave
me problems. My current test is calling the following JS on startup:
var aJavaList = new java.util.LinkedList(); alert(aJavaList.getClass);
This returns the message 'Failed to create Java VM'. The JS works fine
in the JS console opened from Firefox. Anyone able to help me out with
where I'm going wrong? Alternative strategies for using Java from the
xulrunner app would be greatly appreciated too.

I'm new to xulrunner / XPCom (and Linux , come to that) so apologies if
this is inappropriately posted.
John