viewcvs install error on solaris

[bva]

Hello,

While trying to install viewcvs on a solaris 5.9 machine I get the 
following error message:

Traceback (most recent call last):
   File "./viewcvs-install", line 35, in ?
     import compat
   File "./lib/compat.py", line 20, in ?
     import urllib
   File "/usr/local/lib/python2.2/urllib.py", line 26, in ?
     import socket
   File "/usr/local/lib/python2.2/socket.py", line 41, in ?
     from _socket import *
ImportError: No module named _socket

Python is installed on the machine.  Can anybody tell me what I'm doing 
wrong or what I've forgotten?

TIA