[mod_python] Starting a background process with mod_python?

I want to have a user click a 'submit' button on an HTML form, submit to a
mod_python page, and have that mod_python page start 3 or 4 processes in
the background which then run for hours and hours and hours. Obviously a
result should be returned to the user before the hours and hours and hours
are up.

I'm a bit of a python and mod_python newbie, and I tried some stuff with
the 'threading' library, but no luck so far. Can anyone give me a working
example?

Thanks!

 - Keith