Outlook2002-remove <> symbols from path

I have WinXP, using Outlook 2002.
Whenever I send an email giving a network path ie starting with \\
The symbol < appear at the beginning of the path and > at the end
The user then tries to use the path I give them by putting in the < and > symbols.
Then my path obviously doesn’t work.
How do I remove these symbols?
Help please and any suggestions offered would be appreciated.
Mary