How to determine if a linked server is available

Hello all,
I need to write data from one SQL server in to a linked server running on an
other machine. How can i check with T-SQL commands if this server is
available?
If it is not available the stored procedure directly quits with an error.
But this procedure should continue in differt ways, depending on the result
of the linked server transaction.
Both servers are MS SQL 2000, SP3a
Thanks a lot.Try
if exists(select * from master.dbo.sysservers where srvname =
'OtherServer')
BEGIN
-- my code
END