diff --git a/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/envvar/EnvirinmentVariable.java b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/envvar/EnvirinmentVariable.java
index 06da5a9a75c..f7affc9d508 100644
--- a/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/envvar/EnvirinmentVariable.java
+++ b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.core/src/org/eclipse/cdt/core/envvar/EnvirinmentVariable.java
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@
  *******************************************************************************/
 package org.eclipse.cdt.core.envvar;
 
+import org.eclipse.core.runtime.Platform;
+
 
 
 /**
@@ -50,32 +52,25 @@ public class EnvirinmentVariable implements IEnvironmentVariable, Cloneable {
 		this(var.getName(),var.getValue(),var.getOperation(),var.getDelimiter());	
 	}
 
-	/* (non-Javadoc)
-	 * @see org.eclipse.cdt.managedbuilder.envvar.IBuildEnvironmentVariable#getName()
-	 */
 	public String getName(){
 		return fName;
 	}
 
-	/* (non-Javadoc)
-	 * @see org.eclipse.cdt.managedbuilder.envvar.IBuildEnvironmentVariable#getValue()
-	 */
 	public String getValue(){
 		return fValue;
 	}
 
-	/* (non-Javadoc)
-	 * @see org.eclipse.cdt.managedbuilder.envvar.IBuildEnvironmentVariable#getOperation()
-	 */
 	public int getOperation(){
 		return fOperation;
 	}
 
-	/* (non-Javadoc)
-	 * @see org.eclipse.cdt.managedbuilder.envvar.IBuildEnvironmentVariable#getDelimiter()
-	 */
 	public String getDelimiter(){
-		return fDelimiter;
+		if (fDelimiter != null)
+			return fDelimiter;
+		else if (Platform.getOS() == Platform.OS_WIN32)
+			return ";";
+		else
+			return ":";
 	}
 	
 	public Object clone(){