diff --git a/m4/ac_python_devel.m4 b/m4/ac_python_devel.m4
index a851233..da8dfc2 100644
--- a/m4/ac_python_devel.m4
+++ b/m4/ac_python_devel.m4
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ dnl
 dnl You can search for some particular version of Python by passing a
 dnl parameter to this macro, for example ">= '2.3.1'", or "== '2.4'".
 dnl Please note that you *have* to pass also an operator along
-dnl with the version match, and pay special attention to the 
+dnl with the version to match, and pay special attention to the 
 dnl single quotes surrounding the version number.
 dnl
 dnl If the user wants to employ a particular version of Python, she can
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@ dnl This is only limited by the macro parameter set by the packager.
 dnl
 dnl This macro should work for all versions of Python >= 2.1.0. You can 
 dnl disable the check for the python version by setting the 
-dnl PYTHON_NOVERSIONCHECK environment variable.
+dnl PYTHON_NOVERSIONCHECK environment variable to something else
+dnl than the empty string.
 dnl
 dnl If you need to use this macro for an older Python version, please 
 dnl contact the authors. We're always open for feedback.
@@ -112,10 +113,24 @@ variable to configure. See ``configure --help'' for reference.
 	#
 	AC_MSG_CHECKING([for Python library path])
 	if test -z "$PYTHON_LDFLAGS"; then
+		# (makes two attempts to ensure we've got a version number
+		# from the interpreter)
+		py_version=`$PYTHON -c "from distutils.sysconfig import *; \
+			from string import join; \
+			print join(get_config_vars('VERSION'))"`
+		if test "$py_version" == "[None]"; then
+			if test -n "$PYTHON_VERSION"; then
+				py_version=$PYTHON_VERSION
+			else
+				py_version=`$PYTHON -c "import sys; \
+					print sys.version[[:3]]"`
+			fi
+		fi
+
 		PYTHON_LDFLAGS=`$PYTHON -c "from distutils.sysconfig import *; \
 			from string import join; \
 			print '-L' + get_python_lib(0,1), \
-		      	'-lpython' + join(get_config_vars('VERSION'));"`
+		      	'-lpython';"`$py_version
 	fi		
 	AC_MSG_RESULT([$PYTHON_LDFLAGS])
 	AC_SUBST([PYTHON_LDFLAGS])