Menu font question

Is there any way to format the font in a menu list? I want the first default
option to be red. Here is a sample of what I tried:

<form method="POST" name="menu" >
<select name="selectedPage" onChange="changeArticle(this.form.selectedPage)">
<option value="" selected ><font color="#FF0000">Please choose an article
from the list</font></option>
<option value="shakespeare.asp">Qualifying Shakespeare Purchase: Earn
Binoculars/Radio</option> <option value="price_increases.asp">Product Price
Increases in July and August</option>
<option value="dealer_day.asp">Good Time Had By All - 16th Annual Dealer
Day</option>
</select>
</form>