[XML-SIG] PyXML-0.6.6 installation locally in virtually-hosted web space (resent, updated)

[lophty lists]

[Note: this is an updated version of an email that I tried to send to 
XML-SIG a while ago. I am resending because I got a "Returned mail: 
Service unavailable" in my inbox regarding my earlier attempt to send to 
the list. My apologies if you've already received this message.]

I would like to install PyXML and 4Suite along side of Python 2.1.1 in 
some virtually-hosted web space.  I installed Py 2.1.1 on my account 
some time ago and have been running Python cgi scripts with shebang 
lines pointing to this  interpreter with no problems, but I am fumbling 
the PyXML installation thus far and was hoping that I could get some 
advice. The (very brief) README says that the release has been tested 
with Py 1.5 and 2.0, but I didn't think that this would necessarily mean 
that it won't work with 2.1.1 and I'm sure that my problems have more to 
do with my own cluelessness than anything else.

After ungzipping and tar -xvf'ing the PyXML-0.6.6 tar.gz, I tried 
placing it into Python-2.1.1/Modules, went into the PyXML-0.6.6 dir and 
did "python setup.py install".  I got the following error message :

Traceback (innermost last) :
File "setup.py", line 9, in ?
from distutils.core import setup, Extension
ImportError: No module named distutils.core

Needless to say, moving the PyXML-0.6.6 dir around my Python install and 
trying to install didn't work.  Same error msg.

I poked around in my Python install and found a folder "distutils" in 
Python-2.1.1/Lib that contained a file core.py, but that doesn't seem 
right (shouldn't it be in the Modules folder?).

Changing the shebang line in the PyXML-0.6.6 setup.py file to point to 
my locally-installed Python interpreter instead of the old 1.5.2 Python 
installed system-wide did not remedy the problem either.

Has anyone else worked through a similar situation?
I'd be grateful for any advice/help.

Thanks,
brian donovan
(on digest)