I found a mistake in the extract_url.pl program: it doesn't escape ampersands when present in the url, so when the command to actually view the url is invoked, the shell gets confused. I made a quick fix by substituting $command=~s/&/\\&/g before running command.
> > http://www.memoryhole.net/~kyle/extract_url/ > > Try this. It's brilliant. -- o W. Luis Mochán, | tel:(52)(777)329-1734 /<(*) Instituto de Ciencias Físicas, UNAM | fax:(52)(777)317-5388 `>/ /\ Apdo. Postal 48-3, 62251 | (*)/\/ \ Cuernavaca, Morelos, México | moc...@fis.unam.mx /\_/\__/ GPG: DD344B85, 2ADC B65A 5499 C2D3 4A3B 93F3 AE20 0F5E DD34 4B85