Every time I launch Word 2003, Zone Alarm tells me that it is trying to
access the internet, specifically a DNS server on the local network. Each
time this occurs, I deny the internet access and everything appears to work
correctly.

Can anyone give me some insight as to what it might be trying to access the
internet for and how I can stop this?

I am running WXP Pro SP2 and Office 2003 Pro with all available updates
installed on a Dell Inspiron 8600 notebook if that provides any clues.