dpkg uninstalled packages

[Alexander Pohl <a.h.pohl@reading.ac.uk>]

hello,

the dpkg package manager doesn't give a package description for
uninstalled packages. A sample output of dpkg -l '*mysql*' is given below:

Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Installed/Config-files/Unpacked/Failed-config/Half-installed
|/ Err?=(none)/Hold/Reinst-required/X=both-problems (Status,Err:
uppercase=bad)
||/ Name                    Version                 Description
+++-=======================-=======================-==============================================================
ii  dbf2mysql               1.14a-3                 xBase <--> MySQL
un  gda2-mysql              <none>                  (no description
available)
ii  libdbd-mysql-perl       2.9003-3                A Perl5 database
interface to the MySQL database
un  libmysqlclient-dev      <none>                  (no description
available)
ii  libmysqlclient10        3.23.56-2               LGPL-licensed client
library for MySQL databases
ii  libmysqlclient12        4.0.22-2                mysql database
client library
un  libmysqlclient6         <none>                  (no description
available)
un  libmysqlclient6-dev     <none>                  (no description
available)
un  libmysqlclient9         <none>                  (no description
available)
un  libmysqlclient9-dev     <none>                  (no description
available)
un  libqt3c102-mt-mysql     <none>                  (no description
available)
un  mysql                   <none>                  (no description
available)
ii  mysql-admin             1.0.14-1                GUI tool for
intuitive MySQL administration
ii  mysql-admin-common      1.0.14-1                Architecture
independent files for MySQL Administrator
un  mysql-base              <none>                  (no description
available)
ii  mysql-client            4.0.22-2                mysql database
client binaries
ii  mysql-common            4.0.22-2                mysql database
common files (e.g. /etc/mysql/my.cnf)
un  mysql-dev               <none>                  (no description
available)
un  mysql-devel             <none>                  (no description
available)
un  mysql-doc               <none>                  (no description
available)
un  mysql-gpl-client        <none>                  (no description
available)
ii  mysql-query-browser     1.1.1-2                 Official GUI tool to
query MySQL database
ii  mysql-query-browser-com 1.1.1-2                 Architecture
independent files for MySQL Query Browser
ii  mysql-server            4.0.22-2                mysql database
server binaries
un  virtual-mysql-server    <none>                  (no description
available)




I'm using a freshly installed and up to date version of Debian Sarge. In
Woody uninstalled packages had a description for installed as well as
uninstalled packages by default. I would like to get the descriptions
back as it is really bad when you don't see the description of a package
that you might want to install.

Thanks.
Alexander