Black Sheep,
I had checked to make sure that the java plugin was not operating with IE Explorer when it was downladed and installed. Verified that by going into the Java Console after installation. I had to change that setting to get any java enabled for the browser.

Update: It must have been some screwy config problem. I did not solve it myself, but I noticed an update to IE Explorer 6.0 and downloaded and installed. The update solved the problem and I was able to use VM again instead of the Java plugin.

Thanks for you concern and attempts to help me out, its appreciated, since I did not have a clue how to solve this problem.

dennis