diff --git a/Lib/test/test_uuid.py b/Lib/test/test_uuid.py
index ad3b0b3..5ccdcb1 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_uuid.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_uuid.py
@@ -21,8 +21,8 @@
             ('00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000',
              '{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}',
              '00000000000000000000000000000000',
-             '\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0',
-             '\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0',
+             b'\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0',
+             b'\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0',
              (0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0),
              0,
              'urn:uuid:00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000',
@@ -30,8 +30,8 @@
             ('00010203-0405-0607-0809-0a0b0c0d0e0f',
              '{00010203-0405-0607-0809-0a0b0c0d0e0f}',
              '000102030405060708090a0b0c0d0e0f',
-             '\0\x01\x02\x03\x04\x05\x06\x07\x08\t\n\x0b\x0c\x0d\x0e\x0f',
-             '\x03\x02\x01\0\x05\x04\x07\x06\x08\t\n\x0b\x0c\x0d\x0e\x0f',
+             b'\0\x01\x02\x03\x04\x05\x06\x07\x08\t\n\x0b\x0c\x0d\x0e\x0f',
+             b'\x03\x02\x01\0\x05\x04\x07\x06\x08\t\n\x0b\x0c\x0d\x0e\x0f',
              (0x00010203, 0x0405, 0x0607, 8, 9, 0x0a0b0c0d0e0f),
              0x000102030405060708090a0b0c0d0e0f,
              'urn:uuid:00010203-0405-0607-0809-0a0b0c0d0e0f',
@@ -39,8 +39,8 @@
             ('02d9e6d5-9467-382e-8f9b-9300a64ac3cd',
              '{02d9e6d5-9467-382e-8f9b-9300a64ac3cd}',
              '02d9e6d59467382e8f9b9300a64ac3cd',
-             '\x02\xd9\xe6\xd5\x94\x67\x38\x2e\x8f\x9b\x93\x00\xa6\x4a\xc3\xcd',
-             '\xd5\xe6\xd9\x02\x67\x94\x2e\x38\x8f\x9b\x93\x00\xa6\x4a\xc3\xcd',
+             b'\x02\xd9\xe6\xd5\x94\x67\x38\x2e\x8f\x9b\x93\x00\xa6\x4a\xc3\xcd',
+             b'\xd5\xe6\xd9\x02\x67\x94\x2e\x38\x8f\x9b\x93\x00\xa6\x4a\xc3\xcd',
              (0x02d9e6d5, 0x9467, 0x382e, 0x8f, 0x9b, 0x9300a64ac3cd),
              0x02d9e6d59467382e8f9b9300a64ac3cd,
              'urn:uuid:02d9e6d5-9467-382e-8f9b-9300a64ac3cd',
@@ -48,8 +48,8 @@
             ('12345678-1234-5678-1234-567812345678',
              '{12345678-1234-5678-1234-567812345678}',
              '12345678123456781234567812345678',
-             '\x12\x34\x56\x78'*4,
-             '\x78\x56\x34\x12\x34\x12\x78\x56\x12\x34\x56\x78\x12\x34\x56\x78',
+             b'\x12\x34\x56\x78'*4,
+             b'\x78\x56\x34\x12\x34\x12\x78\x56\x12\x34\x56\x78\x12\x34\x56\x78',
              (0x12345678, 0x1234, 0x5678, 0x12, 0x34, 0x567812345678),
              0x12345678123456781234567812345678,
              'urn:uuid:12345678-1234-5678-1234-567812345678',
@@ -57,8 +57,8 @@
             ('6ba7b810-9dad-11d1-80b4-00c04fd430c8',
              '{6ba7b810-9dad-11d1-80b4-00c04fd430c8}',
              '6ba7b8109dad11d180b400c04fd430c8',
-             '\x6b\xa7\xb8\x10\x9d\xad\x11\xd1\x80\xb4\x00\xc0\x4f\xd4\x30\xc8',
-             '\x10\xb8\xa7\x6b\xad\x9d\xd1\x11\x80\xb4\x00\xc0\x4f\xd4\x30\xc8',
+             b'\x6b\xa7\xb8\x10\x9d\xad\x11\xd1\x80\xb4\x00\xc0\x4f\xd4\x30\xc8',
+             b'\x10\xb8\xa7\x6b\xad\x9d\xd1\x11\x80\xb4\x00\xc0\x4f\xd4\x30\xc8',
              (0x6ba7b810, 0x9dad, 0x11d1, 0x80, 0xb4, 0x00c04fd430c8),
              0x6ba7b8109dad11d180b400c04fd430c8,
              'urn:uuid:6ba7b810-9dad-11d1-80b4-00c04fd430c8',
@@ -66,8 +66,8 @@
             ('6ba7b811-9dad-11d1-80b4-00c04fd430c8',
              '{6ba7b811-9dad-11d1-80b4-00c04fd430c8}',
              '6ba7b8119dad11d180b400c04fd430c8',
-             '\x6b\xa7\xb8\x11\x9d\xad\x11\xd1\x80\xb4\x00\xc0\x4f\xd4\x30\xc8',
-             '\x11\xb8\xa7\x6b\xad\x9d\xd1\x11\x80\xb4\x00\xc0\x4f\xd4\x30\xc8',
+             b'\x6b\xa7\xb8\x11\x9d\xad\x11\xd1\x80\xb4\x00\xc0\x4f\xd4\x30\xc8',
+             b'\x11\xb8\xa7\x6b\xad\x9d\xd1\x11\x80\xb4\x00\xc0\x4f\xd4\x30\xc8',
              (0x6ba7b811, 0x9dad, 0x11d1, 0x80, 0xb4, 0x00c04fd430c8),
              0x6ba7b8119dad11d180b400c04fd430c8,
              'urn:uuid:6ba7b811-9dad-11d1-80b4-00c04fd430c8',
@@ -75,8 +75,8 @@
             ('6ba7b812-9dad-11d1-80b4-00c04fd430c8',
              '{6ba7b812-9dad-11d1-80b4-00c04fd430c8}',
              '6ba7b8129dad11d180b400c04fd430c8',
-             '\x6b\xa7\xb8\x12\x9d\xad\x11\xd1\x80\xb4\x00\xc0\x4f\xd4\x30\xc8',
-             '\x12\xb8\xa7\x6b\xad\x9d\xd1\x11\x80\xb4\x00\xc0\x4f\xd4\x30\xc8',
+             b'\x6b\xa7\xb8\x12\x9d\xad\x11\xd1\x80\xb4\x00\xc0\x4f\xd4\x30\xc8',
+             b'\x12\xb8\xa7\x6b\xad\x9d\xd1\x11\x80\xb4\x00\xc0\x4f\xd4\x30\xc8',
              (0x6ba7b812, 0x9dad, 0x11d1, 0x80, 0xb4, 0x00c04fd430c8),
              0x6ba7b8129dad11d180b400c04fd430c8,
              'urn:uuid:6ba7b812-9dad-11d1-80b4-00c04fd430c8',
@@ -84,8 +84,8 @@
             ('6ba7b814-9dad-11d1-80b4-00c04fd430c8',
              '{6ba7b814-9dad-11d1-80b4-00c04fd430c8}',
              '6ba7b8149dad11d180b400c04fd430c8',
-             '\x6b\xa7\xb8\x14\x9d\xad\x11\xd1\x80\xb4\x00\xc0\x4f\xd4\x30\xc8',
-             '\x14\xb8\xa7\x6b\xad\x9d\xd1\x11\x80\xb4\x00\xc0\x4f\xd4\x30\xc8',
+             b'\x6b\xa7\xb8\x14\x9d\xad\x11\xd1\x80\xb4\x00\xc0\x4f\xd4\x30\xc8',
+             b'\x14\xb8\xa7\x6b\xad\x9d\xd1\x11\x80\xb4\x00\xc0\x4f\xd4\x30\xc8',
              (0x6ba7b814, 0x9dad, 0x11d1, 0x80, 0xb4, 0x00c04fd430c8),
              0x6ba7b8149dad11d180b400c04fd430c8,
              'urn:uuid:6ba7b814-9dad-11d1-80b4-00c04fd430c8',
@@ -93,8 +93,8 @@
             ('7d444840-9dc0-11d1-b245-5ffdce74fad2',
              '{7d444840-9dc0-11d1-b245-5ffdce74fad2}',
              '7d4448409dc011d1b2455ffdce74fad2',
-             '\x7d\x44\x48\x40\x9d\xc0\x11\xd1\xb2\x45\x5f\xfd\xce\x74\xfa\xd2',
-             '\x40\x48\x44\x7d\xc0\x9d\xd1\x11\xb2\x45\x5f\xfd\xce\x74\xfa\xd2',
+             b'\x7d\x44\x48\x40\x9d\xc0\x11\xd1\xb2\x45\x5f\xfd\xce\x74\xfa\xd2',
+             b'\x40\x48\x44\x7d\xc0\x9d\xd1\x11\xb2\x45\x5f\xfd\xce\x74\xfa\xd2',
              (0x7d444840, 0x9dc0, 0x11d1, 0xb2, 0x45, 0x5ffdce74fad2),
              0x7d4448409dc011d1b2455ffdce74fad2,
              'urn:uuid:7d444840-9dc0-11d1-b245-5ffdce74fad2',
@@ -102,8 +102,8 @@
             ('e902893a-9d22-3c7e-a7b8-d6e313b71d9f',
              '{e902893a-9d22-3c7e-a7b8-d6e313b71d9f}',
              'e902893a9d223c7ea7b8d6e313b71d9f',
-             '\xe9\x02\x89\x3a\x9d\x22\x3c\x7e\xa7\xb8\xd6\xe3\x13\xb7\x1d\x9f',
-             '\x3a\x89\x02\xe9\x22\x9d\x7e\x3c\xa7\xb8\xd6\xe3\x13\xb7\x1d\x9f',
+             b'\xe9\x02\x89\x3a\x9d\x22\x3c\x7e\xa7\xb8\xd6\xe3\x13\xb7\x1d\x9f',
+             b'\x3a\x89\x02\xe9\x22\x9d\x7e\x3c\xa7\xb8\xd6\xe3\x13\xb7\x1d\x9f',
              (0xe902893a, 0x9d22, 0x3c7e, 0xa7, 0xb8, 0xd6e313b71d9f),
              0xe902893a9d223c7ea7b8d6e313b71d9f,
              'urn:uuid:e902893a-9d22-3c7e-a7b8-d6e313b71d9f',
@@ -111,8 +111,8 @@
             ('eb424026-6f54-4ef8-a4d0-bb658a1fc6cf',
              '{eb424026-6f54-4ef8-a4d0-bb658a1fc6cf}',
              'eb4240266f544ef8a4d0bb658a1fc6cf',
-             '\xeb\x42\x40\x26\x6f\x54\x4e\xf8\xa4\xd0\xbb\x65\x8a\x1f\xc6\xcf',
-             '\x26\x40\x42\xeb\x54\x6f\xf8\x4e\xa4\xd0\xbb\x65\x8a\x1f\xc6\xcf',
+             b'\xeb\x42\x40\x26\x6f\x54\x4e\xf8\xa4\xd0\xbb\x65\x8a\x1f\xc6\xcf',
+             b'\x26\x40\x42\xeb\x54\x6f\xf8\x4e\xa4\xd0\xbb\x65\x8a\x1f\xc6\xcf',
              (0xeb424026, 0x6f54, 0x4ef8, 0xa4, 0xd0, 0xbb658a1fc6cf),
              0xeb4240266f544ef8a4d0bb658a1fc6cf,
              'urn:uuid:eb424026-6f54-4ef8-a4d0-bb658a1fc6cf',
@@ -120,8 +120,8 @@
             ('f81d4fae-7dec-11d0-a765-00a0c91e6bf6',
              '{f81d4fae-7dec-11d0-a765-00a0c91e6bf6}',
              'f81d4fae7dec11d0a76500a0c91e6bf6',
-             '\xf8\x1d\x4f\xae\x7d\xec\x11\xd0\xa7\x65\x00\xa0\xc9\x1e\x6b\xf6',
-             '\xae\x4f\x1d\xf8\xec\x7d\xd0\x11\xa7\x65\x00\xa0\xc9\x1e\x6b\xf6',
+             b'\xf8\x1d\x4f\xae\x7d\xec\x11\xd0\xa7\x65\x00\xa0\xc9\x1e\x6b\xf6',
+             b'\xae\x4f\x1d\xf8\xec\x7d\xd0\x11\xa7\x65\x00\xa0\xc9\x1e\x6b\xf6',
              (0xf81d4fae, 0x7dec, 0x11d0, 0xa7, 0x65, 0x00a0c91e6bf6),
              0xf81d4fae7dec11d0a76500a0c91e6bf6,
              'urn:uuid:f81d4fae-7dec-11d0-a765-00a0c91e6bf6',
@@ -129,8 +129,8 @@
             ('fffefdfc-fffe-fffe-fffe-fffefdfcfbfa',
              '{fffefdfc-fffe-fffe-fffe-fffefdfcfbfa}',
              'fffefdfcfffefffefffefffefdfcfbfa',
-             '\xff\xfe\xfd\xfc\xff\xfe\xff\xfe\xff\xfe\xff\xfe\xfd\xfc\xfb\xfa',
-             '\xfc\xfd\xfe\xff\xfe\xff\xfe\xff\xff\xfe\xff\xfe\xfd\xfc\xfb\xfa',
+             b'\xff\xfe\xfd\xfc\xff\xfe\xff\xfe\xff\xfe\xff\xfe\xfd\xfc\xfb\xfa',
+             b'\xfc\xfd\xfe\xff\xfe\xff\xfe\xff\xff\xfe\xff\xfe\xfd\xfc\xfb\xfa',
              (0xfffefdfc, 0xfffe, 0xfffe, 0xff, 0xfe, 0xfffefdfcfbfa),
              0xfffefdfcfffefffefffefffefdfcfbfa,
              'urn:uuid:fffefdfc-fffe-fffe-fffe-fffefdfcfbfa',
@@ -138,8 +138,8 @@
             ('ffffffff-ffff-ffff-ffff-ffffffffffff',
              '{ffffffff-ffff-ffff-ffff-ffffffffffff}',
              'ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff',
-             '\xff'*16,
-             '\xff'*16,
+             b'\xff'*16,
+             b'\xff'*16,
              (0xffffffff, 0xffff, 0xffff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xffffffffffff),
              0xffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff,
              'urn:uuid:ffffffff-ffff-ffff-ffff-ffffffffffff',
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@
         badvalue(lambda: uuid.UUID(int=1<<128))
 
         # Must supply exactly one of hex, bytes, fields, int.
-        h, b, f, i = '00'*16, '\0'*16, (0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0), 0
+        h, b, f, i = '00'*16, b'\0'*16, (0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0), 0
         uuid.UUID(h)
         uuid.UUID(hex=h)
         uuid.UUID(bytes=b)
diff --git a/Lib/uuid.py b/Lib/uuid.py
index 89fc83c..51b44f8 100644
--- a/Lib/uuid.py
+++ b/Lib/uuid.py
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
 
     # get the raw 16 bytes of the UUID
     >>> x.bytes
-    '\x00\x01\x02\x03\x04\x05\x06\x07\x08\t\n\x0b\x0c\r\x0e\x0f'
+    b'\x00\x01\x02\x03\x04\x05\x06\x07\x08\t\n\x0b\x0c\r\x0e\x0f'
 
     # make a UUID from a 16-byte string
     >>> uuid.UUID(bytes=x.bytes)
@@ -50,7 +50,8 @@
     'reserved for NCS compatibility', 'specified in RFC 4122',
     'reserved for Microsoft compatibility', 'reserved for future definition']
 
-int_ = int # The built-in int function
+int_ = int      # The built-in int type
+bytes_ = bytes  # The built-in bytes type
 
 class UUID(object):
     """Instances of the UUID class represent UUIDs as specified in RFC 4122.
@@ -138,13 +139,15 @@
         if bytes_le is not None:
             if len(bytes_le) != 16:
                 raise ValueError('bytes_le is not a 16-char string')
-            bytes = (bytes_le[3] + bytes_le[2] + bytes_le[1] + bytes_le[0] +
-                     bytes_le[5] + bytes_le[4] + bytes_le[7] + bytes_le[6] +
+            bytes = (bytes_(reversed(bytes_le[0:4])) +
+                     bytes_(reversed(bytes_le[4:6])) +
+                     bytes_(reversed(bytes_le[6:8])) +
                      bytes_le[8:])
         if bytes is not None:
             if len(bytes) != 16:
                 raise ValueError('bytes is not a 16-char string')
-            int = int_(('%02x'*16) % tuple(map(ord, bytes)), 16)
+            assert isinstance(bytes, bytes_), repr(bytes)
+            int = int_(('%02x'*16) % tuple(bytes), 16)
         if fields is not None:
             if len(fields) != 6:
                 raise ValueError('fields is not a 6-tuple')
@@ -189,7 +192,8 @@
             return self.int != other.int
         return NotImplemented
 
-    # XXX What's the value of being able to sort UUIDs?
+    # Q. What's the value of being able to sort UUIDs?
+    # A. Use them as keys in a B-Tree or similar mapping.
 
     def __lt__(self, other):
         if isinstance(other, UUID):
@@ -228,80 +232,70 @@
         return '%s-%s-%s-%s-%s' % (
             hex[:8], hex[8:12], hex[12:16], hex[16:20], hex[20:])
 
-    def get_bytes(self):
-        bytes = ''
+    @property
+    def bytes(self):
+        bytes = b''
         for shift in range(0, 128, 8):
-            bytes = chr((self.int >> shift) & 0xff) + bytes
+            bytes.insert(0, (self.int >> shift) & 0xff)
         return bytes
 
-    bytes = property(get_bytes)
-
-    def get_bytes_le(self):
+    @property
+    def bytes_le(self):
         bytes = self.bytes
-        return (bytes[3] + bytes[2] + bytes[1] + bytes[0] +
-                bytes[5] + bytes[4] + bytes[7] + bytes[6] + bytes[8:])
+        return (bytes_(reversed(bytes[0:4])) +
+                bytes_(reversed(bytes[4:6])) +
+                bytes_(reversed(bytes[6:8])) +
+                bytes[8:])
 
-    bytes_le = property(get_bytes_le)
-
-    def get_fields(self):
+    @property
+    def fields(self):
         return (self.time_low, self.time_mid, self.time_hi_version,
                 self.clock_seq_hi_variant, self.clock_seq_low, self.node)
 
-    fields = property(get_fields)
-
-    def get_time_low(self):
+    @property
+    def time_low(self):
         return self.int >> 96
 
-    time_low = property(get_time_low)
-
-    def get_time_mid(self):
+    @property
+    def time_mid(self):
         return (self.int >> 80) & 0xffff
 
-    time_mid = property(get_time_mid)
-
-    def get_time_hi_version(self):
+    @property
+    def time_hi_version(self):
         return (self.int >> 64) & 0xffff
 
-    time_hi_version = property(get_time_hi_version)
-
-    def get_clock_seq_hi_variant(self):
+    @property
+    def clock_seq_hi_variant(self):
         return (self.int >> 56) & 0xff
 
-    clock_seq_hi_variant = property(get_clock_seq_hi_variant)
-
-    def get_clock_seq_low(self):
+    @property
+    def clock_seq_low(self):
         return (self.int >> 48) & 0xff
 
-    clock_seq_low = property(get_clock_seq_low)
-
-    def get_time(self):
+    @property
+    def time(self):
         return (((self.time_hi_version & 0x0fff) << 48) |
                 (self.time_mid << 32) | self.time_low)
 
-    time = property(get_time)
-
-    def get_clock_seq(self):
+    @property
+    def clock_seq(self):
         return (((self.clock_seq_hi_variant & 0x3f) << 8) |
                 self.clock_seq_low)
 
-    clock_seq = property(get_clock_seq)
-
-    def get_node(self):
+    @property
+    def node(self):
         return self.int & 0xffffffffffff
 
-    node = property(get_node)
-
-    def get_hex(self):
+    @property
+    def hex(self):
         return '%032x' % self.int
 
-    hex = property(get_hex)
-
-    def get_urn(self):
+    @property
+    def urn(self):
         return 'urn:uuid:' + str(self)
 
-    urn = property(get_urn)
-
-    def get_variant(self):
+    @property
+    def variant(self):
         if not self.int & (0x8000 << 48):
             return RESERVED_NCS
         elif not self.int & (0x4000 << 48):
@@ -311,15 +305,12 @@
         else:
             return RESERVED_FUTURE
 
-    variant = property(get_variant)
-
-    def get_version(self):
+    @property
+    def version(self):
         # The version bits are only meaningful for RFC 4122 UUIDs.
         if self.variant == RFC_4122:
             return int((self.int >> 76) & 0xf)
 
-    version = property(get_version)
-
 def _find_mac(command, args, hw_identifiers, get_index):
     import os
     for dir in ['', '/sbin/', '/usr/sbin']:
@@ -536,8 +527,8 @@
 def uuid3(namespace, name):
     """Generate a UUID from the MD5 hash of a namespace UUID and a name."""
     from hashlib import md5
-    hash = md5(namespace.bytes + name).digest()
-    return UUID(bytes=hash[:16], version=3)
+    hash = md5(namespace.bytes + bytes(name, "utf-8")).digest()
+    return UUID(bytes=bytes_(hash[:16]), version=3)
 
 def uuid4():
     """Generate a random UUID."""
@@ -559,8 +550,8 @@
 def uuid5(namespace, name):
     """Generate a UUID from the SHA-1 hash of a namespace UUID and a name."""
     from hashlib import sha1
-    hash = sha1(namespace.bytes + name).digest()
-    return UUID(bytes=hash[:16], version=5)
+    hash = sha1(namespace.bytes + bytes(name, "utf-8")).digest()
+    return UUID(bytes=bytes_(hash[:16]), version=5)
 
 # The following standard UUIDs are for use with uuid3() or uuid5().