>>>I looked at the Outlook XP documentation on the MSFT website and found that there is a shortcut key combination to check for new mail, CTRL+M or F5 that may work for you.<<
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>I've just had a look at my Outlook XP (it's actually called Outlook 2002) in the 'About...' section) and once a folder is displayed (eg. Drafts or Outbox), as far as I can see there is no send option on any menu (including right-click menus). The only way I can see to send the emails is to open each email in turn, then click on the Send button.

In Outlook XP (or whatever they call WatchOut this week) I once accidentally pressed F9 and it started sending/receiving. May work for you as well, who knows.