We use a veggie steamer for cooking rice - just put the rice in a plastic tub in the steamer with an equal quantity of water and just let it run - produces perfect rice without any mess everytime.

The steamer is a great kitchen gadget, cheap, and allows you to steam 3-4 different things at once without using all the rings on the stove.

Mel - you could try putting the rice into a bowl that will sit on top of your saucepan with a little boiling water in the bottom - I suspect that your saucepan has a relatively thin base that allows the heat to be concentrated in a few areas and that makes the rice stick and then burn - the indirect heat should solve the problem.