Space-sensitive sorting?

[gnumeric-list 9 osterizer spamgourmet com]

When sorting text in Gnumeric, it appears that whitespace is disregarded during
the sort, so that (for example):

   ADAMS BETTY
   ADAMS TIMOTHY
   ADAMSON PAUL

sorts as:

   ADAMS BETTY
   ADAMSON PAUL
   ADAMS TIMOTHY

with the "O" in ADAMSON preceding the "T" in TIMOTHY.

I've looked for a preference to override this behavior, but couldn't find one --
is there a way to force Gnumeric to consider spaces when sorting?

Thanks in advance,
Heath