diff -r 0610f70e6694 Lib/distutils/spawn.py
--- a/Lib/distutils/spawn.py	Sun Jun 26 23:48:23 2011 -0700
+++ b/Lib/distutils/spawn.py	Mon Jun 27 05:28:42 2011 -0700
@@ -147,10 +147,11 @@
     """Tries to find 'executable' in the directories listed in 'path'.
 
     A string listing directories separated by 'os.pathsep'; defaults to
-    os.environ['PATH'].  Returns the complete filename or None if not found.
+    os.environ['PATH'] or the current directory if PATH is not defined.
+    Returns the complete filename or None if not found.
     """
     if path is None:
-        path = os.environ['PATH']
+        path = os.environ.get('PATH', '.')
 
     paths = path.split(os.pathsep)
     base, ext = os.path.splitext(executable)