reload mysql

Hello again. I want to be able to reload the mysql server after adding users to the database. I tried it using exec(), but it doesn't seem to be doing the job... $didexec = exec("mysqladmin reload -u user -p pword"); if (!isset($didexec)){ echo "unable to reload mysql server...you may need to go in through telnet"; }//end if I don't reach the echo statement, which may never get reached if exec always sends something back regardless of the outcome, but the server doesn't reload. Actually, I just tried typing that line into the command prompt, and it thought "pword" was a command. Who can help me with this one? :) Thanks again. Jason