I have a system that will not open Vcards when sent in email as an attachment.

The system:
XP Pro w/SP2 running Office 2000

The issue:
Right now the user is configured to use MS Word as an editor, while
configured to do so Vcards emailed will fail to open, however, if I remove
the tag to use Word as an editor they open just fine. I've tried this on my
own system and it works fine either way. When it fails to open it gives no
error message, it simply treats the Vcard as if it were an object instead of
an attachment; it will highlight and show an object box around it instead of
interacting with it and causing it to open. Also, if using a preview pane,
clicking on the paper clip in the right corner to open the attachment works,
only when clicking within the email on the attachment itself does it fail.
I've tried comparing the settings in Word and Outlook to those on my system
and have not noticed any differences. I've tried repairing Office and also
uninstalling and reinstalling, neither have worked. I've installed all
available updates.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated,

Thank you.