use CSS sprites for list () background image

You can also use

li:before {
    background:url(..) no-repeat -##px -##px;
    width:##px;
    height:##px;
    display:block;
    position:absolute;
    content: " ";
    top:##px;
    left:##px;
}

and thus get an additional element added to the DOM and give that the background image.