>How can I read the shortcuts (*.lnk) files too determine paths?
>How does one create these files and place them on the desktop?

The simplest answer to both is to install the WSH and employ the Wscript.Shell COM object's CreateShortcut method. There are references to WSH resources in my signature. An alternative would be to download and use George Tasker's LNKFILES.DLL from here on UT.