Hello,
I have built an Application Note for newbies (& students !) who want to 
understand and implement RS232 (UART) in an FPGA. Especially when it's 
an assignement, they should follow this document instead of asking for 
the UART code (which I give away only in the context of larger 
educational projects).
I have also built a nice (I think) Tutorial to implement and test a 
simple UART in the new Igloo nano Kit (49 $!), complete with all steps 
from installing the (free) development software to building the design, 
programming the kit and testing the RS232 on a PC.
These are available at :
http://www.alse-fr.com/UART/ALSE_RS232.pdf
http://www.alse-fr.com/Actel/ALSE_Igloo_nano.exe
As I state in this document, do not expect tech support for free stuff, 
though I welcome useful remarks and suggestions.

Hope it helps (and will reduce the amount of requests for the UART),

Bert Cuzeau
CTO ALSE
(can be reached at info@ the website in the links above)