http://blog.stevenlevithan.com/archives/faster-than-innerhtml

innerHTML faster than fast

// for everybody except IE
function replaceHtml(el, html) {
	var oldEl = typeof el === "string" ? document.getElementById(el) : el;
	var newEl = oldEl.cloneNode(false);
	newEl.innerHTML = html;
	oldEl.parentNode.replaceChild(newEl, oldEl);
	/* Since we just removed the old element from the DOM, return a reference
	to the new element, which can be used to restore variable references. */
	return newEl;
};

// Pure innerHTML is slightly faster in IE, so change the function
/*@cc_on
function replaceHtml(el, html) {
	var oldEl = typeof el === "string" ? document.getElementById(el) : el;
	oldEl.innerHTML = html;
	return oldEl;
}
@*/