SELECT gets suspended if the table contains a row lock (!)

Hi,
I experience the following scenario:
1. update a row in a table (say, in one SQLStudio session, without doing
commit).
2. In another session (SQLStudio or whatever), try to select * from this
table. Or try to select the row that is being updated. SELECT does not
return until the other session is committed.

Is this a feature of Maxdb or it can be controlled by some database
parameter?

Eduard M