Folder and file synchronization

I have a desktop computer running Windows 2000 Professional and a laptop running Windows XP and I would like to be able to synchronize a few folders with my documents so I can have a current copy on both computers. Currently I am copying the entirefolder from one computer and copying it to the other computer which takes along time or I have to copy each file as I make changes. Is there a better and faster way to do this? Windows 2000 has offline folders and I assume that Windows XP has themas well but does that have to be run from a server or can it be run between two clients? If that is not a good way to go are there any good programs that can make this task easier? Thanks for your help.