Multi-dimensional nested arrays in Smarty

I've asked a few questions before on Smarty here and I've worked through them but this one really has me. I checked the Smarty lists for answers and couldn't find a clear answer. Here is my problem. i want to do something to this effect {section name=loop_index loop=$DATA_ARRAY} {$DATA_ARRAY[loop_index].somevalue} {section name=loop_index2 loop=$INNER_ARRAY[loop_index]} {$INNER_ARRAY[loop_index][loop_index2].SOMEVALUE} {/section} {/section} I basically have an associative array $DATA_ARRAY and I want a second two dimensional array where the first array index is the subscript of the first so I basically iterate through the second array within a specific row. but for the life of me I can't get this properly. how would I set this up properly during assignment and output? I believe the above is right for output but what about assignment? $templ_var->append("INNER_ARRAY", ?????); I've tried a lot of things but none seem to work... If anyone of you have any insight it would be greatly appreciated. chad@guilette.net