Description of problem:

my linux (fc5) box is shared by several people, 
so it runs at runlevel 5 with several virtual consoles.
a user finds an unused virtual console, 
logs in and types at the bash prompt "startx -- :1"
or "startx -- :2" etc, depending on which server is available.
the users switch between their X/gnome desktops using Ctrl-Alt-F[789].

now, the "global" setting for LANG in /etc/sysconfig/i18n is 
LANG="en_US.UTF-8"
which is what "most" users want.

Now, the dissident users that want to use a different locale try to set LANG
in their ~/.bash_profile and, indeed, after they login in the virtual console,
they observe the correct value of LANG:
$ echo $LANG
ru_RU
$

alas, when they open a gnome-terminal in X, the value of LANG is reverted to 
the system-wide default "en_US.UTF-8".

So, how can different users use different locales?


How reproducible:
always

Steps to Reproduce:
1./etc/sysconfig/i18n:LANG="FOO"
2.~/.profile:export LANG="BAR"
3.login on a virtual console
4.echo $LANG ==> "BAR"
5.startx
6.xterm
7.echo $LANG ==> "FOO"
  
Actual results:
LANG in xterm is "FOO"

Expected results:
LANG is xterm is "BAR"