Each user seems to have their own php.ini. It appears that the system /etc/php.ini is ignored. Is this right?

I've added eaccelerator, ioncube, and zend optimizer to my server. I've also updated the php include_path in the /etc/php.ini to reference the directory into which I'm providing extra php classes that my customers can use. It would be nice if I didn't have to update each user's php.ini files when I make an /etc/php.ini change.

Can there be some inheritance of the /etc/php.ini as default values for the system. This way, if I need to make a system change, it can immediately be available to all users.

Thanks!

running in mod_php there is 1 php.ini
running in mod_fcgid each domain has its own php.ini

you can update all php.ini's by running commands with a tool like sed.
there is some documentation on it

http://www.virtualmin.com/documentation/id,php_and_virtualmin/