IE6 HTTP Bug with HTTP_Accept request header

Something I bumped into today: The first time Internet Explorer loads a URL, it sends an “HTTP_Accept” request header with the list of MIME types it accepts, like so:
HTTP_ACCEPT = application/vnd.ms-excel, application/vnd.ms-powerpoint, application/msword, */*

Any subsequent request of the same URL, though, only sends “*/*”:
HTTP_ACCEPT = */*

Of course I watched this through an ASP page which wrote out Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_Accept").  I wasn’t sure if it was IIS or IE‘s fault tho, so I checked the raw headers with Fiddler, and it’s definitely IE.

What’s especially strange is that I can find little or no mention of the problem. Anyone else heard of (or conquered) this?

It rather messes up a page I’m working on…

UPDATE: See here for a bug and workaround demo article I just put together.