OK, after installing Civ III I ran it for the first time, and when it loaded to the main menu...well the main menu wasn't there.
Then I updated to 1.29f, that didnt help - exactly the same thing persisted.
After installing Civ III: Conquests - exactly the same thing happened in its menu - the buttons appear, but the text doesn't.

Very weird problem.
Help appreciated.



P.S.
Specs: XP 2400+ ; Radeon 9700 Pro 4.7 Cats; EpoX mobo.

Sounds like a corrupted labels.txt. I would uninstall and reinstall.