Applying active directory policies top winxp

From: Utkarsh (uammclaren_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 11/11/03 

Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 22:13:59 -0800

I am a newbie as far as w2k server is concerned.i have set
up a test lan using one win2k server and 2 winxp pro
computers. i have created active directory and i wish to
know how to apply group policies to winxp clients. only
specifying policies to organizational units does not help.
are there any other settings required.i have added users
to ou. also winxp takes a long time to log onto the domain.
pl. help.