To browse Active Directory, you would normally perform the following (or similar) steps:
1. Double-click My Network Places.
2. Double-click Entire Network.
3. Double-click Directory.
4. Click you domain.
If you prefer to reduce these 7 mouse clicks to one or two clicks:
1. Double-click My Network Places.
2. Double-click Entire Network.
3. Double-click Directory.
4. Right-click your domain in the right-hand pane and press Create Shortcut.
5. Press Yes in response to the desktop message.
You can either leave the shortcut on your desktop or move it to the Start menu or your Quick Launch toolbar.
NOTE: I tried typing ntds://<DomainName>.<DomainSuffix> into the address bar. If Outlook Express is your configured news reader, it would open with a group not found error. If you use Agent.exe as your news reader, Internet Explorer would open and search the web for this string.