Sound breaking up

Hi everybody
I have today just encountered a problem with MS sound breaking up. Listen to the attached file - I have loaded the sound sample into a Powerpoint presentation since I can't upload an MP3 file direct.

MS Sound Sample.ppt

The problem seems to be there with all of my MS files. Playing other sound files such as CD's on Windows Media Player or Groove Music are OK, so I don't think it is the computer that is at fault. I think this is a porblem with MS. Curious and curiouser....

Any advice or suggestions are welcome. I have already tried uninstalling MS and downloading/installing it again, but to no avail.
Thank you to all in advance
Andrew