<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>

#div:first-letter { color: green; }

</style>
</head>

<body onload="document.getElementById('div').appendChild(document.createTextNode(''));">

<div style="-moz-column-width: 0.5em; -moz-column-gap: 100px;" id="div">xx ! </div>
  
</body>
</html>