diff --git a/otk/ustring.cc b/otk/ustring.cc
index 8c48cb4d..b6432d44 100644
--- a/otk/ustring.cc
+++ b/otk/ustring.cc
@@ -111,7 +111,8 @@ ustring::size_type utf8_byte_offset(const char* str, ustring::size_type offset,
 
 // ustring methods
 
-ustring::ustring()
+ustring::ustring(bool utf8)
+  : _utf8(utf8)
 {
 }
 
diff --git a/otk/ustring.hh b/otk/ustring.hh
index bc00a31a..be2a59c8 100644
--- a/otk/ustring.hh
+++ b/otk/ustring.hh
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ public:
 
   static const size_type npos = std::string::npos;
 
-  ustring();
+  ustring(bool utf8 = true);
   ~ustring();
 
   // make new strings