how to safely open malicious programs in winxp

Is there a way to safely open suspect executables in win xp? I would rather not go dual boot and setup Linux to do this. However, everything I am coming up with points to using Linux as a very secure route.
Thanks.

 

I would recommend downloading the FREE Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 and set up a virtual machine to test the file with. I haven't tried it for this purpose yet, but from all indications, it will work. Make sure you use a virtual disk to completely isolate your filesystems!

 

Thanks Tim

Ryan,
I haven't used this before. Can you or anyone else give me a quick rundown on it?
Thanks,

 

Check out the official website for Virtual PC 2004: Link

Follow the link to the Demo, which is a handy flash presentation that sums it up pretty well. Link

Of course, download it from MajorGeeks! Link

 

Ryanizer,
Wow! Thanks for that. It appears to do what I need it to. And, it keeps me from setting up Linux!

 

VMWare server is also free and will let you run a full virtual computer

http://www.vmware.com/products/server/

I can't see a link to it on mgs only the player and workstation