Question

How do I do this?

Answer 1

You can execute anything you want from Python with the os.system() function.

os.system(command)
Execute the command
(a string) in a subshell. This is
implemented by calling the Standard C
function system, and has the same
limitations. Changes to os.environ,
sys.stdin, etc. are not reflected in
the environment of the executed
command.

For more power and flexibility you will want to look at the subprocess module:

The subprocess module allows you to
spawn new processes, connect to their
input/output/error pipes, and obtain
their return codes.