Running multiple versions of Python on the same host..

[Cowmix]

For my day job I am forced to run RHEL3 (and Centos3 on my desktop). I
want to be able to use a few applications that require Python 2.4.X but
RHEL3 ships with Python 2.2.3. I have tried to install and upgrade
Python 2.4.X many ways like using PyVault and doing a source based
install but each way has been fraught with problems from weird
dependency issues to screwing up 'yum'.

What is the best way to run multiple version of Python on the same
system?

thanks!