Help me in this please--is Python the answer?

[Ray]

Hello,

I've got the chance to determine the technology to use in creating a
product similar to this:

http://www.atomicisland.com/

Now the thing is that I need to sell this to the guy with the money.
I've developed for years with C++ and Java, last 7 years J2EE, and I'm
kinda sick of the "bloated" feeling that the whole J2EE/appserver
business carries into the picture.

Python is the language that I use at home, so I've been thinking of
using this to implement the product mentioned above. I've personally
experienced the pleasure of programming in it, and as such, I hope that
this will translate to advantage over our competitors (a la Paul
Graham's argument for Lisp).

That said, my experience with Python is limited to toy programs, that I
write myself for my own use. As such, I have several concerns:

1. How scalable is Python? In J2EE, when the load gets really big, we
can resort to clustering. Same goes about availability. Is there
anything that will help here in Python? (Mind, my Python experience is
usually with scripts and console).

2. If there is, what is the transition like from being lightweight to
heavyweight? E.g.: in J2EE we can use Tomcat at first as a lightweight
web container, and scale as necessary using a more powerful appserver.
Is this possible in Python?

3. Have any of you done this before? As in you come from a heavy J2EE
background, and then switch to doing something equally serious in
Python? In your experience, in the end, did you find Python suitable at
all for this domain or you think you should have stuck to J2EE? What
are the pros and cons you discovered?

(I'd love to develop in Python and get paid for it finally, but at the
same time I do want to give the money guy the best value for his
money...)

Thanks much,
Ray