MS stupidly dumped Outlook Express, and replaced it with something else that I did not get on with.
So I started using O. For me it is a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but it seems to work OK.
Mine came with a Student version of Office 2007. (Er, if it didn't I dunno how it got here).
I have the "not quite open" Reading pane at the bottom - it works fine by me.
Layered virus protection and applied common sense, backed up by mixture's comments and our man from Bracknell keep me safe most of the time.