Python vs C for a mail server

[abhinav]

ya its supposed to be some stupid 6 month project which my friend has
to do.I am just helping him out.he may not be implementing a full
fledged rfc compliance mail server but may support some of the major
functionalities.so basically its an extra ordinary need.I just wanted
to know which language would be better for implementation and has
faster development cycle.I have heard a lot about python and its ease
of use.My point is it should be worth a 6 month project and speedy
development since he is already proficient in C/C++ socket programming
and taking the pain of learning python should be worth the effort.