PHP scripts cant resolve net addresses

[hefferbub]

I have installed Xampp 1.6.7 on Ubuntu 8.04, and everything works great except for one thing: In PHP scripts running on the server, if I attempt to access any hosts via HTTP, the system is unable to resolve the hostname using DNS. If I use the IP address of the host, it works fine. I have tried writing PHP scripts using fopen, file_get_contents CURL, and gethostbyname(), and none of them work with a hostname.

I can properly resolve hostnames in web browsers,and shell sessions, on this same server, so I know that the /etc/resolv.conf is configured correctly and that the DNS servers are functioning.

I have restarted Apache, XAMPP and the server many times with no improvement. I also upgraded XAMPP to 1.6.8a with no improvement. I have used XAMPP on WIndows and Mac without ever seeing this problem.

Can anyone suggest what might be causing this problem and/or any ways to diagnose the cause? Any help will be appreciated!

Jeff Gilmore