--- a/Lib/distutils/command/build_ext.py
+++ b/Lib/distutils/command/build_ext.py
@@ -447,7 +447,8 @@

     def build_extension(self, ext):
         sources = ext.sources
-        if sources is None or type(sources) not in (ListType, TupleType):
+        if sources is None or type(sources) not in (ListType, TupleType) or \
+                not sources:
             raise DistutilsSetupError, \
                   ("in 'ext_modules' option (extension '%s'), " +
                    "'sources' must be present and must be " +