What's the equivalent in Python for Perl's CPAN?

[Mike Carifio]

> That's an impressive post.  Try a Google for Parnassus.

I'm aware of Parnassus, which appears to be a "jumpstation" to various
modules.
Certainly a centralized directory has value, but it also forces me to
manually fetch
code in various formats as .py files, .tgz files or even in "Distutil
format" (which I'm
reading about).

CPAN has a mirrored repository where the modules all appear to be packaged
in the
same format, perhaps "bundled together" where it makes sense. And there's a
CPAN
client side (a Perl module) that can fetch stuff from a named repository and
install it
locally. This includes chasing module dependencies and installing those
also.
It also includes knowing which modules have already been downloaded and
installed.

The closest thing I seem to be able to find is ActiveState's Package Manager
(http://www.activestate.com/Products/ActivePython/more_information.plex).
Is this what I should use or is something else preferred?

So, what's the equivalent in Python for Perl's CPAN?