I think it's likely that this is the same bug reported by http://groups.google.com/group/web2py/browse_thread/thread/9707f3d66d859893/5785831e673afd2b?lnk=gst&q=ajax+search#5785831e673afd2b
If true, it's interesting to note that this bug has lived for almost 2 years; possibly more.
