[Mediawiki-l] Email problem in mediawiki v1.11.1

[Kathleen Cooch]

Hope someone can help
I want to add email notification of watched pages
I understand  to add in localsettings.php a boolean emailnotify
my problem is when users are setting up preferences
 at the bottom of the form is an email box with this message

Your e-mail address is not yet authenticated. No e-mail will be sent for any of
the following features.
followed by a link to 'confirm your email'
pressing the link brings this response:


A confirmation code has already been e-mailed to you; if you recently created
your account, you may wish to wait a few minutes for it to arrive before trying
to request a new code.

This wiki requires that you validate your e-mail address before using e-mail
features. Activate the button below to send a confirmation mail to your address.
The mail will include a link containing a code; load the link in your browser to
confirm that your e-mail address is valid. 


when button for mail a confirmation code is clicked 
response is  Confirmation e-mail sent.
my problem is that no email is sent
could someone please send me in the right direction?
Thanks
kate