Pops, Laura, and anyone who doesn't like them, you don't need to have any icons showing on your desktop at all!
Press Start and go to - Settings - Active Desktop View - then click on 'View as Web page' and they will disappear! You can still access them by using the desktop button on the taskbar.
(I know I only have Windows 98' but surely this feature is available on the later versions too?)

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Chris