how to prevent reading of xml file from browser under a particular directory on FC5

hi friends,

 I have configured a HelpDesk Ticketing System on Fedora Core 5. The problem I am facing is that there is a file called "site.xml" which
contains the information about database connections and I don't want ppl to be able to read that file through browser. As per the readme.htm of that software if the below entries will be put in .htaccess then nobody can read the xml through browser.

<Files ~ ".xml">
  Order allow,deny
  Deny from all
  Satisfy All
</Files>


Even though the above entries are there in .htaccess still I am able to read "site.xml" file. How do I prevent the reading of this file ?

HelpDesk Ticketing Software is  /var/www/html/request and .htaccess is under /var/www/html/request.

Please let me know if you need any further information.

Thanks & Regards