Outlook 2003 - Reading Pane - Any Risks?

I just received a suspicious E-Mail to one of my ISP provided E-Mail addresses. The E-Mail was from a hotmail address that someone I know may or may not be still using. The E-Mail was also addressed to many others. I notified the person about the E-Mail via their newer E-Mail address.

I did not open the E-Mail. However, I did click on the E-Mail so that I could see it in the Reading Pane. In the Reading Pane, I saw "only" a "highly suspicious" link. I did not open the E-Mail and there were no attachments.

Is there any risk in "viewing" the contents of an E-Mail in Outlook 2003's Reading Pane?

Thanks in Advance.

 

I believe the 2003 version used IE for the reading pane so the risks should be the same as using IE.