module compile scope problem

[rdack]

i have BerkeleyBSD installed on OpenBSD system.
i have some code that won't compile.
the code does:
from bsddb.db import *

then, in an __init__ of a class:
self.env=DBEnv( )

import fails unless i do 'from bsddb3.db import *'
in interactive python, after the import, i can do 'xx=DBEnv()' with no error;

but with the system that ends up compiling the code, it says DBEnv isn't defined.

any clues/thoughts?