What does "#!/usr/bin/env python" do?

[Parzival]

I am a now immigrant to Linux from (the old country)
Can someone explain what the line:

#!/usr/bin/env python

at the start of a python script does? All my reading of
bash and env manpages would lead me to believe that

#!python 

is equivalent to the first line, but not speaking well the
language am I, so here the question am I asking.

-- 

(-: Stop, smile, and enjoy your breathing :-)
-- Parzival
-- Reply-to is confuggled: parzp (@) shaw (.) ca