diff --git a/gdrivefs/gdfs/fsutility.py b/gdrivefs/gdfs/fsutility.py
index 2e02469..e5e6f25 100644
--- a/gdrivefs/gdfs/fsutility.py
+++ b/gdrivefs/gdfs/fsutility.py
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
 def strip_export_type(path):
 
     matched = re.search('#([a-zA-Z0-9\-]+\\+[a-zA-Z0-9\-]+)?$', 
-                       path.encode('ASCII'))
+                       path.encode('UTF-8'))
 
     mime_type = None