Can’t connect to Internet on Windows XP

I have a Windows XP Home edition Compaq Laptop and I am not able to open a webpage. I conect through a cable modem and also tried the T1 at work and it’s the same thing. I am able to connect to AOL and read email but even there no web pages will load. I am also able to run Norton live update and that connects without problem. I am also not able to ping. I can’t understand why I am able to use the network card to connect to aol and live update but can’t get a web page. I get the page cannot be displayed error. I tried changing the internet connection settings but that doesn’t work either. Please help.
Thanks,
George