version() output vs. 32/64 bits

It has been pointed out to me that the output of the version() function 
is becoming more confusing in face of mixed 32/64 bit environments. 
Output like i486-pc-linux-gnu just says what kind of kernel the build 
environment has, not whether you actually have a IA-32 build. 
Conversely, amd64-pc-linux-gnu could very well be a 32-bit build. 
Solaris similar issues.  Moreover, there does not actually seem to be a 
way to find out whether you have a 32-bit or a 64-bit build (except by 
using OS tools).

I'm not quite sure yet how to address this.  Do others have similar 
experiences or certain information requirements?  Other ideas?