os.environ conflicts with my shell

[lewst]

I'm having problems with os.environ conflicting with my shell when
trying to set environment variables.  I'll illustrate with an example.
Take the following short Python program:

  #!/usr/bin/env python
  # start up an xterm with $NAME="John Q. Public"
  import os
  os.environ["NAME"] = "John Q. Public"
  os.system("xterm &")

The trouble is that the environment in the new xterm still contains
the old value of the $NAME environment variable.  I'm guessing this is
because $NAME is also set in my .zshrc which overwrites the value
Python assigned to $NAME.

How can I get the value of os.environ["NAME"] to stick in new xterm's
environment?


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger.
http://im.yahoo.com