Choosing a Windows C compiler for use with Cython and 32-bit Python 2.7

[python at bdurham.com]

Looking for some tips on getting started with Cython development
under Windows. I am using Python 2.7.2.

After reading the Cython documentation [1] it appears that one
has a choice of using either the MinGW or MS Visual C compiler.

1. Are there any issues associated with using the MinGW compiler
and mixing C runtimes? This seems the be the simplest and fastest
way to get started with the tradeoff being the need to distribute
another C runtime (in addition to the MS C runtime required for
the Python interpreter itself)

2. Regarding the MS Visual C compiler - can one use the C
compiler that ships with one of the free Express editions of
Visual Studio or must one purchase a full version of MS Visual
Studio to get the appropriate compiler?

3. Which version (2005, 2008, 2010, ...) of MS Visual Studio is
required to compile Cython libraries compatible with the 32 bit
version of Python 2.7.2?

Thank you,
Malcolm

[1] http://docs.cython.org/src/quickstart/install.html
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