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Yes, you are right. I could also replace the global
unicode() function with my own version that adheres to my
global encoding settings. But that doesn't seem the right
thing to do. Anyway, this is not so much a technical
decision but one that touches design. 

Anyway, it's just a small thing I tought usefull. If the
defaultencoding goes away altogether, I'll have to make
something up on my own anyway.

Thanks for your comments!