What has priority: PATH from User variables or system variables?

In WinXP I can setup/change under System->Advanced->Environment Variables

the PATH variable in two ways:

By changing the entry under "user variables" and under "system variables".

Until now I thought that the "User variables" settings have priority over

the system variables. So the sequence of PATHs I expected was

PATH=%PATH%(from user variable%PATH%(from system variable)

But as I had to notice this is NOT the case!

When I type

"set"

at the command prompt then the system variable PATH come BEFORE user variable PATH.

Is there a way to change the sequence?

Sabine