CGI and long running job

[merry.sailor at gmail.com]

Hello,
I am using python and CGI to initiate a long running simulation (up to
5h long) on a remote machine. The main idea is that I use a form, enter
the parameters and a CGI scripts start the simulation using these
parameters. The structure of the script is:

1. Read paremeters
2. Display some information
3. Start the simulation

For step 3 I use either os.system or os.popen(2). The problem is that
the web server does not send the information of step 2 back to the
browser, unless step 3 is completed. The browser simply waits for a
response, without displaying anything. How can I just read the params,
display the info I want, start the simulation and then terminate either
the script or at least the connection to the browser without having to
wait for the simulation to finish?

I am using activestate python 2.4, Apache and WinXP.

Thanks a lot for your help.