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For more examples of MapScript, see some of these links. They point to a few different packages and tutorials.
PHP MapScript By Example HOWTO
http://mapserver.gis.umn.edu/doc/phpmapscript-byexample-howto.html
Chameleon, MapLab and Gmap demo
Comprehensive mapping systems built with PHP MapScript (http://maptools.org/)
Simple recipes using PHP MapScript (http://www.mobilegeographics.com/mapserver/)
Tom Kralidis
Example of downloading point coordinates and creating a new shapefile (http://www.kralidis.ca/gis/eqmapping/index.html)
Mapping tools for Python, not necessarily using MapServer, but similar in features; also includes links to Cartographic Objects for Zope. (http://zcologia.org/)