The problem
Sometimes an errant program can wipe out these special icons. You can still get to the same information through the windows control panel. While just as effective, not quite as handy. Sure would be nice to have that special little icon back on the desktop ready for easy access when ever you needed it. right? Well here's what you need to do to get it back:
The solution
1. Open the Registry Editor (regedt32) from the Run command.
2. Navigate to the following Registry key:
HKEY LOCAL MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ Current Version \ Explorer \ Desktop \ NameSpace
3. Once you're there, click the Edit menu, point to New and click Key. Change the name of the key to (make sure you include the curly brackets):
{00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
4. Close the Registry editor and right click on your desktop and click Refresh.
You should see the Outlook icon appear on your desktop again.