diff -r 5e025dc7d728 Doc/library/re.rst
--- a/Doc/library/re.rst	Sat Aug 11 21:14:08 2012 +0300
+++ b/Doc/library/re.rst	Sat Aug 11 14:18:14 2012 -0500
@@ -533,11 +533,17 @@
 .. data:: X
           VERBOSE
 
-   This flag allows you to write regular expressions that look nicer. Whitespace
-   within the pattern is ignored, except when in a character class or preceded by
-   an unescaped backslash, and, when a line contains a ``'#'`` neither in a
-   character class or preceded by an unescaped backslash, all characters from the
-   leftmost such ``'#'`` through the end of the line are ignored.
+   This flag allows you to write regular expressions that look
+   nicer. Whitespace within the pattern is ignored, with three
+   exceptions: within a character class; when preceded by an unescaped
+   backslash; and within the initial characters of a ``(?...``
+   extension construct (so, for example, ``(?P<a_or_b> a | b)`` is a
+   valid verbose regular expression, but ``(?P <a_or_b> a | b)`` is
+   not).
+
+   In addition, when a line contains a ``'#'`` neither in a character
+   class or preceded by an unescaped backslash, all characters from
+   the leftmost such ``'#'`` through the end of the line are ignored.
 
    That means that the two following regular expression objects that match a
    decimal number are functionally equal::