Outlook Express Hyperlinks

I am using OE6 with WinXP Pro and am having a problem with the links in the e-mail program. None of the html links will open when I click on them. The e-mail links work just fine, but nothing happens when any other form of link is clicked. Also, a link that was sent as an attachment, when clicked on, came up with a message saying that there was no program associated with that action and to create an association in the folder options control panel. I looked in the folder options for associations pertaining to URL, HTML, and the likes, but nothing seems to want to work. Any help would be greatly appreciated!