diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index ca8041e6..b4ce309c 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Version 2.2.1 (2012-11-01 21:01:40) stable
+Version 2.2.1 (2012-11-01 21:07:42) stable
diff --git a/gluon/validators.py b/gluon/validators.py
index 0280126a..37cbc781 100644
--- a/gluon/validators.py
+++ b/gluon/validators.py
@@ -575,7 +575,10 @@ class IS_NOT_IN_DB(Validator):
         self.record_id = id
 
     def __call__(self, value):
-        value = str(value)
+        if isinstance(value,unicode):
+            value = value.encode('utf8')
+        else:
+            value = str(value)
         if not value.strip():
             return (value, translate(self.error_message))
         if value in self.allowed_override: