[R] install.packages (newbie?) error

[Åsa Byström]

I recently installed R 1.7.1 on Mac OS 10.2.6, and I now need to 
install the akima package. When I use install.packages(akima) or any 
variation of that command, I get the following message:

Error: couldn't find function "install.packages"

(I haven't had any problems with other commands so far, so I don't 
think there's a problem with the R installation. I also threw the whole 
thing out and re-installed R from scratch, but that didn't help.)

I then tried simply downloading, unstuffing, and dragging the package 
to my library folder. But then, when I tried library(akima), another 
error message said the package wasn't properly installed.

Any hints?

Thanks,
Åsa Byström