application cannot connect to localhost when network is unreachable

steps to reproduce:
1) unpack the dataset (mymap.tar.gz) somewhere
2) serve it over http on port 8080 (e.g., using twisted, twistd -n web --path somewhere/mymap --port 8080)
3) unpack and build the sample
4) unplug the ethernet cable
5) run the application

expected result: blank map. and warnings about

QHttpNetworkConnectionPrivate::_q_hostLookupFinished could not de-queue request

repeating the steps and skipping 4) will make it work