1.Sometimes simply restarting the computer works.
2. Running System Restore and choosing a date when Internet Explorer worked properly could be worth a try.
3. Visiting the Microsoft update site and downloading any relevant updates for her version of Internet Explorer might fix the problem.
4. If your friend is using Internet Explorer 6 (or an earlier version), upgrading to IE7 might do the trick.
5. Try opening Internet Explorer 'manually', rather than by clicking on a link in the e-mail. By this, I mean that your friend should right-click on the link in the e-mail and select 'Copy shortcut'. Then close Outlook Express (or whatever other e-mail program she uses). Open Internet Explorer. Left-click to place the cursor in the address bar. Then right-click and select 'Paste'. Click 'Go'.
Personally, I wouldn't bother with any of those. I'd simply switch browsers. I recommend that your friend downloads and installs Firefox. (It's much better than Internet Explorer).
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/
The only slight disadvantage is that it seems impossible to configure Outlook Express (or Outlook) so that web pages open in Firefox instead of Internet Explorer. Your friend would have to copy and paste the link, from the e-mail to the address bar, as in Method 5, above.
Chris