Search Function - Office 2003

Whenever I try to Search in XP. the regular search with the dog, MS Office 2003 tries to install and when I cancel it Explorer crashes. I can't figure it out. I'd like to just uninstall Office 2003. It came with the computer but of course you have to pay to use it. I use Open Office anyway. I'm afarid to uninstall Office 2003. Would it screw up Outlook. The old Outlook. In lieu of the regular search I got Windows Desktop Search. I stopped it from starting with Windows. Why Oh Why does this stuff happen?

Anybody got any ideas?

Any help is greatly appreciated.