In Outlook 2003, when I send out email, the "J's" turn out as ":-)" and the

Details -

1) I ran AVG virus software, I have no viruses

2) I ran Norton Systemworks - all clear

3) The autocorrect options are fine - there is nothing saying to convert characters to anything

4) I'm running Service Pack 3 on MS Outlook and I have all the updates for my OS as well (Windows XP - with Service Pack 2)

5) I've restarted

6) WHen I compose my Outlook mail - MS Word 2003 is my editor.

7) I compose in HTML

8) I do not see these characters when I compose email.

9) Sometimes, in my sent box, the letters appear correctly - other times, they appear with ";-)" and ":-(" characters.

In Outlook 2003, when I send out email, the "J's" turn out as ":-)" and the "L's" turn out as ":-(". Why?agv

This is strange as I occasionally have my :-) at my signature in Outlook 2003 turn out as a "J" in another's email with Outlook 2003, but not in my sent file. It seems to depend on the receiver. I had a friend ask me what the "J" meant--they felt stupid, as they thought that they did not know the jargon! I am only guessing here, but something tells me that because of the "J" and "L" being shaped like the smily/frowny faces that these are some kind of shortcut or language for these symbols that come through in certain cases. I do not know what the dynamics are, but with me it is only occasionally, unless people never mention it. :-)