The file is not being processed by a web server, which is what PHP is
intended for. Web browsers use what's known as a MIME type to display pages.
The web server will send the web browser a MIME type with the file. Sine PHP
is not a standard item included with IE, IE doesn't know how to interpret
the file extension so it simply displays it as text. The best thing is to
run it through a web server with a PHP processor. If you're running IIS, you
can get one through the PHP group at
http://www.php.net
I don't know if it would work, but you could try creating a file association
in Windows Explorer under Tools | Folder Options | File Types for the PHP
extension and copy the settings for the HTM extension to open with IE. It's
a longshot, but you never know.
Hope this helps,
Mark Fitzpatrick
Microsoft MVP - FrontPage