streaming videos in internet explorer 6

[beezle]

i've spent hours trying to make this work, help would be much appreciated...

windows media player is broken on my system therefore i would like to use vlc as a substitute.
i'm trying to make vlc the default helper application for eg. wmv files in internet explorer so i can watch embedded video in a browser window or alternatively make vlc start up upon clicking a video link in the browser.

im running windows xp sp2, internet explorer 6. vlc 0.8.5 and the activex plugin are installed.

so far it just _doesn't_ work

i hope this is clear enough.
thank you