In my opinion, the best way is to use Boot Camp.
I have just written some general advice on Boot Camp, with a Windows XP partition, which I also highly recommend, herein.
First, you should read the Boot Camp manual carefully and follow it in detail.
http://manuals.info.apple.com/enUS/Boot_CampInstall-Setup.pdf
Second, you should format your Windows partition using the NTFS format. Fat 32 will not support files larger than 3.5 GB.
By having your partition formatted as NTFS, you will be able to upgrade to Windows 7 easily in the future should you wish to do so. I would recommend a minimum partition size of 40 GB.
To access your Mac hard drive from Windows, you would want to check out MacDrive 7, which is really good.
http://www.mediafour.com
Under NTFS, you will be able to read your Windows drive from your Mac drive.
However, if you want to write to it, you will need the following software from Paragon.
http://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs-mac/
If you go with XP, and to save money, look for Microsoft OEM versions of Windows XP. These are the same as retail versions of Windows, but you will pay far less, i.e. $129 vs. $399.
However, do not go for manufacturer OEM copies of Windows, like from Dell or HP, as they will not work properly.
You can find the proper versions at CDW or Amazon.
http://www.cdw.com
Good luck, and let us know
