Sorry - I should have said in the original post - I am using Windows XP Pro, SP2, IE 7, ZoneAlarm, AVG, &c
When I go to
http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/welcome/ it indicates that I have Flash Player and Shockwave Player installed correctly. Java is ON because I can use Java chat applets in Telstra for example.
When I go to Windows Live Spaces -
http://www.live.com/?mkt=en-au -
and click on "Whats New" it takes me to -
http://imagine-windowslive.com/live/whatsnew/default.aspx?locale=en-usit then tells me that I need Adobe Flash Player 6 or above!! You may not be able to follow these links since they are after I have logged in to my account
The problem is not important and I can live a long and happy life without that particular web site

Thanks for your help
Alan