diff --git a/Modules/_bsddb.c b/Modules/_bsddb.c
index bd1c271..0587071 100644
--- a/Modules/_bsddb.c
+++ b/Modules/_bsddb.c
@@ -1171,13 +1171,16 @@
         else if (PyInt_Check(result)) {
             retval = PyInt_AsLong(result);
         }
-        else if (PyBytes_Check(result)) {
+        else if (PyBytes_Check(result) || PyString_Check(result)) {
             char* data;
             Py_ssize_t size;
 
             CLEAR_DBT(*secKey);
-            size = PyBytes_Size(result);
-            data = PyBytes_AsString(result);
+            size = Py_Size(result);
+            if (PyBytes_Check(result))
+                data = PyBytes_AS_STRING(result);
+            else
+                data = PyString_AS_STRING(result);
             secKey->flags = DB_DBT_APPMALLOC;   /* DB will free */
             secKey->data = malloc(size);        /* TODO, check this */
 	    if (secKey->data) {
@@ -1517,7 +1520,7 @@
             retval = Py_BuildValue("y#y#", key.data, key.size, data.data,
                                    data.size);
         else /* return just the data */
-            retval = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize((char*)data.data, data.size);
+            retval = PyString_FromStringAndSize((char*)data.data, data.size);
         free_dbt(&data);
     }
     FREE_DBT_VIEW(key, keyobj, key_buf_view);
@@ -1587,13 +1590,13 @@
     else if (!err) {
         PyObject *pkeyObj;
         PyObject *dataObj;
-        dataObj = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(data.data, data.size);
+        dataObj = PyString_FromStringAndSize(data.data, data.size);
 
         if (self->primaryDBType == DB_RECNO ||
             self->primaryDBType == DB_QUEUE)
             pkeyObj = PyInt_FromLong(*(int *)pkey.data);
         else
-            pkeyObj = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(pkey.data, pkey.size);
+            pkeyObj = PyString_FromStringAndSize(pkey.data, pkey.size);
 
         if (flags & DB_SET_RECNO) /* return key , pkey and data */
         {
@@ -1602,7 +1605,7 @@
             if (type == DB_RECNO || type == DB_QUEUE)
                 keyObj = PyInt_FromLong(*(int *)key.data);
             else
-                keyObj = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(key.data, key.size);
+                keyObj = PyString_FromStringAndSize(key.data, key.size);
 #if (PY_VERSION_HEX >= 0x02040000)
             retval = PyTuple_Pack(3, keyObj, pkeyObj, dataObj);
 #else
@@ -1729,7 +1732,8 @@
     else if (!err) {
         /* XXX(nnorwitz): can we do: retval = dataobj; Py_INCREF(retval); */
         /* XXX(gps) I think not: buffer API input vs. bytes object output. */
-        retval = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize((char*)data.data, data.size);
+        /* XXX(guido) But what if the input is PyString? */
+        retval = PyString_FromStringAndSize((char*)data.data, data.size);
 
         /* Even though the flags require DB_DBT_MALLOC, data is not always
            allocated.  4.4: allocated, 4.5: *not* allocated. :-( */
@@ -2773,7 +2777,7 @@
         retval = NULL;
     }
     else {
-        retval = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize((char*)data.data, data.size);
+        retval = PyString_FromStringAndSize((char*)data.data, data.size);
         free_dbt(&data);
     }
 
@@ -2928,7 +2932,7 @@
             case DB_BTREE:
             case DB_HASH:
             default:
-                item = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize((char*)key.data, key.size);
+                item = PyString_FromStringAndSize((char*)key.data, key.size);
                 break;
             case DB_RECNO:
             case DB_QUEUE:
@@ -2938,7 +2942,7 @@
             break;
 
         case _VALUES_LIST:
-            item = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize((char*)data.data, data.size);
+            item = PyString_FromStringAndSize((char*)data.data, data.size);
             break;
 
         case _ITEMS_LIST:
@@ -3286,13 +3290,13 @@
     else {
         PyObject *pkeyObj;
         PyObject *dataObj;
-        dataObj = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(data.data, data.size);
+        dataObj = PyString_FromStringAndSize(data.data, data.size);
 
         if (self->mydb->primaryDBType == DB_RECNO ||
             self->mydb->primaryDBType == DB_QUEUE)
             pkeyObj = PyInt_FromLong(*(int *)pkey.data);
         else
-            pkeyObj = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(pkey.data, pkey.size);
+            pkeyObj = PyString_FromStringAndSize(pkey.data, pkey.size);
 
         if (key.data && key.size) /* return key, pkey and data */
         {
@@ -3301,7 +3305,7 @@
             if (type == DB_RECNO || type == DB_QUEUE)
                 keyObj = PyInt_FromLong(*(int *)key.data);
             else
-                keyObj = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(key.data, key.size);
+                keyObj = PyString_FromStringAndSize(key.data, key.size);
             retval = PyTuple_Pack(3, keyObj, pkeyObj, dataObj);
             Py_DECREF(keyObj);
         }
@@ -4909,7 +4913,7 @@
     MYDB_END_ALLOW_THREADS
 
     if (!err)
-        retval = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(key.data, key.size);
+        retval = PyString_FromStringAndSize(key.data, key.size);
 
     free_dbt(&key);
     RETURN_IF_ERR();
diff --git a/Modules/_codecsmodule.c b/Modules/_codecsmodule.c
index e3933e7..caee3fd 100644
--- a/Modules/_codecsmodule.c
+++ b/Modules/_codecsmodule.c
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@
 			"string is too large to encode");
 			return NULL;
 	}
-	v = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, newsize);
+	v = PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, newsize);
 
 	if (v == NULL) {
 		return NULL;
@@ -188,11 +188,11 @@
 	else {
 		register Py_ssize_t i;
 		register char c;
-		register char *p = PyBytes_AS_STRING(v);
+		register char *p = PyString_AS_STRING(v);
 
 		for (i = 0; i < size; i++) {
 			/* There's at least enough room for a hex escape */
-			assert(newsize - (p - PyBytes_AS_STRING(v)) >= 4);
+			assert(newsize - (p - PyString_AS_STRING(v)) >= 4);
 			c = PyString_AS_STRING(str)[i];
 			if (c == '\'' || c == '\\')
 				*p++ = '\\', *p++ = c;
@@ -212,13 +212,12 @@
 				*p++ = c;
 		}
 		*p = '\0';
-		if (PyBytes_Resize(v, (p - PyBytes_AS_STRING(v)))) {
-			Py_DECREF(v);
+		if (_PyString_Resize(&v, (p - PyString_AS_STRING(v)))) {
 			return NULL;
 		}
 	}
 	
-	return codec_tuple(v, PyBytes_Size(v));
+	return codec_tuple(v, PyString_Size(v));
 }
 
 /* --- Decoder ------------------------------------------------------------ */
@@ -654,7 +653,7 @@
 			  &data, &size, &errors))
 	return NULL;
 
-    return codec_tuple(PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(data, size), size);
+    return codec_tuple(PyString_FromStringAndSize(data, size), size);
 }
 
 static PyObject *
@@ -669,7 +668,7 @@
 			  &data, &size, &errors))
 	return NULL;
 
-    return codec_tuple(PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(data, size), size);
+    return codec_tuple(PyString_FromStringAndSize(data, size), size);
 }
 
 static PyObject *
@@ -688,12 +687,12 @@
     if (PyUnicode_Check(obj)) {
 	data = PyUnicode_AS_DATA(obj);
 	size = PyUnicode_GET_DATA_SIZE(obj);
-	return codec_tuple(PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(data, size), size);
+	return codec_tuple(PyString_FromStringAndSize(data, size), size);
     }
     else {
 	if (PyObject_AsReadBuffer(obj, (const void **)&data, &size))
 	    return NULL;
-	return codec_tuple(PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(data, size), size);
+	return codec_tuple(PyString_FromStringAndSize(data, size), size);
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/Modules/_ctypes/_ctypes.c b/Modules/_ctypes/_ctypes.c
index 81276fa..39dfdef 100644
--- a/Modules/_ctypes/_ctypes.c
+++ b/Modules/_ctypes/_ctypes.c
@@ -763,7 +763,7 @@
 static PyObject *
 CharArray_get_raw(CDataObject *self)
 {
-	return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(self->b_ptr, self->b_size);
+	return PyString_FromStringAndSize(self->b_ptr, self->b_size);
 }
 
 static PyObject *
@@ -774,7 +774,7 @@
 	for (i = 0; i < self->b_size; ++i)
 		if (*ptr++ == '\0')
 			break;
-	return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(self->b_ptr, i);
+	return PyString_FromStringAndSize(self->b_ptr, i);
 }
 
 static int
@@ -789,14 +789,14 @@
 						  conversion_mode_errors);
 		if (!value)
 			return -1;
-	} else if (!PyBytes_Check(value)) {
+	} else if (!PyString_Check(value)) {
 		PyErr_Format(PyExc_TypeError,
 			     "str/bytes expected instead of %s instance",
 			     Py_Type(value)->tp_name);
 		return -1;
 	} else
 		Py_INCREF(value);
-	size = PyBytes_GET_SIZE(value);
+	size = PyString_GET_SIZE(value);
 	if (size > self->b_size) {
 		PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError,
 				"string too long");
@@ -804,7 +804,7 @@
 		return -1;
 	}
 
-	ptr = PyBytes_AS_STRING(value);
+	ptr = PyString_AS_STRING(value);
 	memcpy(self->b_ptr, ptr, size);
 	if (size < self->b_size)
 		self->b_ptr[size] = '\0';
@@ -838,7 +838,7 @@
 {
 	Py_ssize_t result = 0;
 
-	if (PyBytes_Check(value)) {
+	if (PyString_Check(value)) {
 		value = PyUnicode_FromEncodedObject(value,
 						    conversion_mode_encoding,
 						    conversion_mode_errors);
@@ -1106,7 +1106,7 @@
 		Py_INCREF(Py_None);
 		return Py_None;
 	}
-	if (PyUnicode_Check(value) || PyBytes_Check(value)) {
+	if (PyUnicode_Check(value) || PyString_Check(value)) {
 		PyCArgObject *parg;
 		struct fielddesc *fd = getentry("Z");
 
@@ -1167,7 +1167,7 @@
 		Py_INCREF(Py_None);
 		return Py_None;
 	}
-	if (PyBytes_Check(value) || PyUnicode_Check(value)) {
+	if (PyString_Check(value) || PyUnicode_Check(value)) {
 		PyCArgObject *parg;
 		struct fielddesc *fd = getentry("z");
 
@@ -1251,7 +1251,7 @@
 	}
 	/* XXX struni: remove later */
 /* string */
-	if (PyBytes_Check(value)) {
+	if (PyString_Check(value)) {
 		PyCArgObject *parg;
 		struct fielddesc *fd = getentry("z");
 
@@ -2705,8 +2705,8 @@
 		return 1;
 	}
 #endif
-	if (PyBytes_Check(obj)) {
-		*pname = PyBytes_AS_STRING(obj);
+	if (PyString_Check(obj)) {
+		*pname = PyString_AS_STRING(obj);
 		return *pname ? 1 : 0;
 	}
 	if (PyUnicode_Check(obj)) {
@@ -3734,9 +3734,9 @@
 			char *dest;
 
 			if (slicelen <= 0)
-				return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
+				return PyString_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
 			if (step == 1) {
-				return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(ptr + start,
+				return PyString_FromStringAndSize(ptr + start,
 								 slicelen);
 			}
 			dest = (char *)PyMem_Malloc(slicelen);
@@ -3749,7 +3749,7 @@
 				dest[i] = ptr[cur];
 			}
 
-			np = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(dest, slicelen);
+			np = PyString_FromStringAndSize(dest, slicelen);
 			PyMem_Free(dest);
 			return np;
 		}
@@ -4411,9 +4411,9 @@
 			char *dest;
 			
 			if (len <= 0)
-                        	return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
+                        	return PyString_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
 			if (step == 1) {
-				return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(ptr + start,
+				return PyString_FromStringAndSize(ptr + start,
 								 len);
 			}
 			dest = (char *)PyMem_Malloc(len);
@@ -4422,7 +4422,7 @@
 			for (cur = start, i = 0; i < len; cur += step, i++) {
 				dest[i] = ptr[cur];
 			}
-			np = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(dest, len);
+			np = PyString_FromStringAndSize(dest, len);
 			PyMem_Free(dest);
 			return np;
 		}
@@ -4658,8 +4658,8 @@
 string_at(const char *ptr, int size)
 {
 	if (size == -1)
-		return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(ptr, strlen(ptr));
-	return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(ptr, size);
+		return PyString_FromStringAndSize(ptr, strlen(ptr));
+	return PyString_FromStringAndSize(ptr, size);
 }
 
 static int
diff --git a/Modules/_ctypes/callproc.c b/Modules/_ctypes/callproc.c
index bc524f7..69129f7 100644
--- a/Modules/_ctypes/callproc.c
+++ b/Modules/_ctypes/callproc.c
@@ -507,9 +507,9 @@
 		return 0;
 	}
 
-	if (PyBytes_Check(obj)) {
+	if (PyString_Check(obj)) {
 		pa->ffi_type = &ffi_type_pointer;
-		pa->value.p = PyBytes_AsString(obj);
+		pa->value.p = PyString_AsString(obj);
 		Py_INCREF(obj);
 		pa->keep = obj;
 		return 0;
diff --git a/Modules/_ctypes/cfield.c b/Modules/_ctypes/cfield.c
index 910470a..2ec7b3a 100644
--- a/Modules/_ctypes/cfield.c
+++ b/Modules/_ctypes/cfield.c
@@ -1157,16 +1157,20 @@
 						  conversion_mode_errors);
 		if (value == NULL)
 			return NULL;
-		if (PyBytes_GET_SIZE(value) != 1) {
+		if (PyString_GET_SIZE(value) != 1) {
 			Py_DECREF(value);
 			goto error;
 		}
-		*(char *)ptr = PyBytes_AsString(value)[0];
+		*(char *)ptr = PyString_AS_STRING(value)[0];
 		Py_DECREF(value);
 		_RET(value);
 	}
+	if (PyString_Check(value) && PyString_GET_SIZE(value) == 1) {
+		*(char *)ptr = PyString_AS_STRING(value)[0];
+		_RET(value);
+	}
 	if (PyBytes_Check(value) && PyBytes_GET_SIZE(value) == 1) {
-		*(char *)ptr = PyBytes_AsString(value)[0];
+		*(char *)ptr = PyBytes_AS_STRING(value)[0];
 		_RET(value);
 	}
 	if (PyInt_Check(value))
@@ -1187,7 +1191,7 @@
 static PyObject *
 c_get(void *ptr, Py_ssize_t size)
 {
-	return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize((char *)ptr, 1);
+	return PyString_FromStringAndSize((char *)ptr, 1);
 }
 
 #ifdef CTYPES_UNICODE
@@ -1196,7 +1200,7 @@
 u_set(void *ptr, PyObject *value, Py_ssize_t size)
 {
 	Py_ssize_t len;
-	if (PyBytes_Check(value)) {
+	if (PyString_Check(value)) {
 		value = PyUnicode_FromEncodedObject(value,
 						    conversion_mode_encoding,
 						    conversion_mode_errors);
@@ -1271,7 +1275,7 @@
 	/* It's easier to calculate in characters than in bytes */
 	length /= sizeof(wchar_t);
 
-	if (PyBytes_Check(value)) {
+	if (PyString_Check(value)) {
 		value = PyUnicode_FromEncodedObject(value,
 						    conversion_mode_encoding,
 						    conversion_mode_errors);
@@ -1327,8 +1331,8 @@
 						  conversion_mode_errors);
 		if (value == NULL)
 			return NULL;
-		assert(PyBytes_Check(value));
-	} else if(PyBytes_Check(value)) {
+		assert(PyString_Check(value));
+	} else if(PyString_Check(value)) {
 		Py_INCREF(value);
 	} else {
 		PyErr_Format(PyExc_TypeError,
@@ -1337,10 +1341,10 @@
 		return NULL;
 	}
 
-	data = PyBytes_AsString(value);
+	data = PyString_AS_STRING(value);
 	if (!data)
 		return NULL;
-	size = strlen(data);
+	size = strlen(data); /* XXX Why not Py_Size(value)? */
 	if (size < length) {
 		/* This will copy the leading NUL character
 		 * if there is space for it.
@@ -1368,8 +1372,8 @@
 		Py_INCREF(value);
 		return value;
 	}
-	if (PyBytes_Check(value)) {
-		*(char **)ptr = PyBytes_AsString(value);
+	if (PyString_Check(value)) {
+		*(char **)ptr = PyString_AsString(value);
 		Py_INCREF(value);
 		return value;
 	} else if (PyUnicode_Check(value)) {
@@ -1378,8 +1382,7 @@
 							  conversion_mode_errors);
 		if (str == NULL)
 			return NULL;
-		assert(PyBytes_Check(str));
-		*(char **)ptr = PyBytes_AS_STRING(str);
+		*(char **)ptr = PyString_AS_STRING(str);
 		return str;
 	} else if (PyInt_Check(value)) {
 #if SIZEOF_VOID_P == SIZEOF_LONG_LONG
@@ -1433,7 +1436,7 @@
 		Py_INCREF(Py_None);
 		return Py_None;
 	}
-	if (PyBytes_Check(value)) {
+	if (PyString_Check(value)) {
 		value = PyUnicode_FromEncodedObject(value,
 						    conversion_mode_encoding,
 						    conversion_mode_errors);
@@ -1516,7 +1519,7 @@
 	/* convert value into a PyUnicodeObject or NULL */
 	if (Py_None == value) {
 		value = NULL;
-	} else if (PyBytes_Check(value)) {
+	} else if (PyString_Check(value)) {
 		value = PyUnicode_FromEncodedObject(value,
 						    conversion_mode_encoding,
 						    conversion_mode_errors);
diff --git a/Modules/_cursesmodule.c b/Modules/_cursesmodule.c
index a1d7e2e..cf412d8 100644
--- a/Modules/_cursesmodule.c
+++ b/Modules/_cursesmodule.c
@@ -1796,7 +1796,7 @@
     remove(fn);
     return NULL;
   }
-  if (!PyBytes_Check(data)) {
+  if (!PyString_Check(data)) {
     PyErr_Format(PyExc_TypeError,
                  "f.read() returned %.100s instead of bytes",
                  data->ob_type->tp_name);
@@ -1805,7 +1805,7 @@
     remove(fn);
     return NULL;
   }
-  fwrite(PyBytes_AS_STRING(data), 1, PyBytes_GET_SIZE(data), fp);
+  fwrite(PyString_AS_STRING(data), 1, PyString_GET_SIZE(data), fp);
   Py_DECREF(data);
   fseek(fp, 0, 0);
   win = getwin(fp);
diff --git a/Modules/_fileio.c b/Modules/_fileio.c
index f02c5ef..c357a73 100644
--- a/Modules/_fileio.c
+++ b/Modules/_fileio.c
@@ -400,14 +400,14 @@
 	Py_ssize_t total = 0;
 	int n;
 
-	result = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, DEFAULT_BUFFER_SIZE);
+	result = PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, DEFAULT_BUFFER_SIZE);
 	if (result == NULL)
 		return NULL;
 
 	while (1) {
 		Py_ssize_t newsize = total + DEFAULT_BUFFER_SIZE;
-		if (PyBytes_GET_SIZE(result) < newsize) {
-			if (PyBytes_Resize(result, newsize) < 0) {
+		if (PyString_GET_SIZE(result) < newsize) {
+			if (_PyString_Resize(&result, newsize) < 0) {
 				if (total == 0) {
 					Py_DECREF(result);
 					return NULL;
@@ -419,7 +419,7 @@
 		Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS
 		errno = 0;
 		n = read(self->fd,
-			 PyBytes_AS_STRING(result) + total,
+			 PyString_AS_STRING(result) + total,
 			 newsize - total);
 		Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS
 		if (n == 0)
@@ -438,8 +438,8 @@
 		total += n;
 	}
 
-	if (PyBytes_GET_SIZE(result) > total) {
-		if (PyBytes_Resize(result, total) < 0) {
+	if (PyString_GET_SIZE(result) > total) {
+		if (_PyString_Resize(&result, total) < 0) {
 			/* This should never happen, but just in case */
 			Py_DECREF(result);
 			return NULL;
@@ -468,10 +468,10 @@
 		return fileio_readall(self);
 	}
 
-	bytes = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, size);
+	bytes = PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, size);
 	if (bytes == NULL)
 		return NULL;
-	ptr = PyBytes_AsString(bytes);
+	ptr = PyString_AS_STRING(bytes);
 
 	Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS
 	errno = 0;
@@ -486,7 +486,7 @@
 	}
 
 	if (n != size) {
-		if (PyBytes_Resize(bytes, n) < 0) {
+		if (_PyString_Resize(&bytes, n) < 0) {
 			Py_DECREF(bytes);
 			return NULL;
 		}
diff --git a/Modules/_hashopenssl.c b/Modules/_hashopenssl.c
index 252a2ae..0f460bf 100644
--- a/Modules/_hashopenssl.c
+++ b/Modules/_hashopenssl.c
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@
     digest_size = EVP_MD_CTX_size(&temp_ctx);
     EVP_DigestFinal(&temp_ctx, digest, NULL);
 
-    retval = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize((const char *)digest, digest_size);
+    retval = PyString_FromStringAndSize((const char *)digest, digest_size);
     EVP_MD_CTX_cleanup(&temp_ctx);
     return retval;
 }
diff --git a/Modules/_sqlite/cache.c b/Modules/_sqlite/cache.c
index 829c175..2f50e6a 100644
--- a/Modules/_sqlite/cache.c
+++ b/Modules/_sqlite/cache.c
@@ -241,12 +241,12 @@
         if (!fmt_args) {
             return NULL;
         }
-        template = PyString_FromString("%s <- %s ->%s\n");
+        template = PyUnicode_FromString("%s <- %s ->%s\n");
         if (!template) {
             Py_DECREF(fmt_args);
             return NULL;
         }
-        display_str = PyString_Format(template, fmt_args);
+        display_str = PyUnicode_Format(template, fmt_args);
         Py_DECREF(template);
         Py_DECREF(fmt_args);
         if (!display_str) {
diff --git a/Modules/_sqlite/connection.c b/Modules/_sqlite/connection.c
index 5f899e8..d4318de 100644
--- a/Modules/_sqlite/connection.c
+++ b/Modules/_sqlite/connection.c
@@ -425,8 +425,6 @@
         sqlite3_result_int64(context, (PY_LONG_LONG)longval);
     } else if (PyFloat_Check(py_val)) {
         sqlite3_result_double(context, PyFloat_AsDouble(py_val));
-    } else if (PyString_Check(py_val)) {
-        sqlite3_result_text(context, PyString_AsString(py_val), -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
     } else if (PyUnicode_Check(py_val)) {
         sqlite3_result_text(context, PyUnicode_AsString(py_val), -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
     } else if (PyObject_CheckBuffer(py_val)) {
@@ -467,7 +465,7 @@
                 break;
             case SQLITE_TEXT:
                 val_str = (const char*)sqlite3_value_text(cur_value);
-                cur_py_value = PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8(val_str, strlen(val_str), NULL);
+                cur_py_value = PyUnicode_FromString(val_str);
                 /* TODO: have a way to show errors here */
                 if (!cur_py_value) {
                     PyErr_Clear();
@@ -477,7 +475,7 @@
                 break;
             case SQLITE_BLOB:
                 buflen = sqlite3_value_bytes(cur_value);
-                cur_py_value = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(
+                cur_py_value = PyString_FromStringAndSize(
                     sqlite3_value_blob(cur_value), buflen);
                 break;
             case SQLITE_NULL:
@@ -1023,8 +1021,8 @@
         goto finally;
     }
 
-    string1 = PyString_FromStringAndSize((const char*)text1_data, text1_length);
-    string2 = PyString_FromStringAndSize((const char*)text2_data, text2_length);
+    string1 = PyUnicode_FromStringAndSize((const char*)text1_data, text1_length);
+    string2 = PyUnicode_FromStringAndSize((const char*)text2_data, text2_length);
 
     if (!string1 || !string2) {
         goto finally; /* failed to allocate strings */
@@ -1093,7 +1091,7 @@
         goto finally;
     }
 
-    chk = PyString_AsString(uppercase_name);
+    chk = PyUnicode_AsString(uppercase_name);
     while (*chk) {
         if ((*chk >= '0' && *chk <= '9')
          || (*chk >= 'A' && *chk <= 'Z')
@@ -1118,7 +1116,7 @@
     }
 
     rc = sqlite3_create_collation(self->db,
-                                  PyString_AsString(uppercase_name),
+                                  PyUnicode_AsString(uppercase_name),
                                   SQLITE_UTF8,
                                   (callable != Py_None) ? callable : NULL,
                                   (callable != Py_None) ? pysqlite_collation_callback : NULL);
diff --git a/Modules/_sqlite/cursor.c b/Modules/_sqlite/cursor.c
index c789faf..c51c92e 100644
--- a/Modules/_sqlite/cursor.c
+++ b/Modules/_sqlite/cursor.c
@@ -272,11 +272,7 @@
         }
     }
 
-    if (is_ascii) {
-        return PyString_FromString(val_str);
-    } else {
-        return PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8(val_str, strlen(val_str), NULL);
-    }
+    return PyUnicode_FromString(val_str);
 }
 
 /*
@@ -379,7 +375,7 @@
             } else {
                 /* coltype == SQLITE_BLOB */
                 nbytes = sqlite3_column_bytes(self->statement->st, i);
-                buffer = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(
+                buffer = PyString_FromStringAndSize(
                     sqlite3_column_blob(self->statement->st, i), nbytes);
                 if (!buffer) {
                     break;
@@ -436,8 +432,8 @@
             return NULL; 
         }
 
-        if (!PyString_Check(operation) && !PyUnicode_Check(operation)) {
-            PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError, "operation parameter must be str or unicode");
+        if (!PyUnicode_Check(operation)) {
+            PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError, "operation parameter must be str");
             return NULL;
         }
 
@@ -458,8 +454,8 @@
             return NULL; 
         }
 
-        if (!PyString_Check(operation) && !PyUnicode_Check(operation)) {
-            PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError, "operation parameter must be str or unicode");
+        if (!PyUnicode_Check(operation)) {
+            PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError, "operation parameter must be str");
             return NULL;
         }
 
diff --git a/Modules/_sqlite/module.c b/Modules/_sqlite/module.c
index 61ac0a1..107d61a 100644
--- a/Modules/_sqlite/module.c
+++ b/Modules/_sqlite/module.c
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@
     PyObject* callable;
     PyObject* retval = NULL;
 
-    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "SO", &orig_name, &callable)) {
+    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "UO", &orig_name, &callable)) {
         return NULL;
     }
 
diff --git a/Modules/_sqlite/row.c b/Modules/_sqlite/row.c
index 2f3ba69..dfb6363 100644
--- a/Modules/_sqlite/row.c
+++ b/Modules/_sqlite/row.c
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@
         nitems = PyTuple_Size(self->description);
 
         for (i = 0; i < nitems; i++) {
-            compare_key = PyString_AsString(PyTuple_GET_ITEM(PyTuple_GET_ITEM(self->description, i), 0));
+            compare_key = PyUnicode_AsString(PyTuple_GET_ITEM(PyTuple_GET_ITEM(self->description, i), 0));
             if (!compare_key) {
                 return NULL;
             }
diff --git a/Modules/_sqlite/statement.c b/Modules/_sqlite/statement.c
index 1cc3cdd..98cc68a 100644
--- a/Modules/_sqlite/statement.c
+++ b/Modules/_sqlite/statement.c
@@ -105,15 +105,10 @@
 #endif
     } else if (PyFloat_Check(parameter)) {
         rc = sqlite3_bind_double(self->st, pos, PyFloat_AsDouble(parameter));
-    } else if PyString_Check(parameter) {
-        string = PyString_AsString(parameter);
-        rc = sqlite3_bind_text(self->st, pos, string, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
     } else if PyUnicode_Check(parameter) {
-        stringval = PyUnicode_AsUTF8String(parameter);
-        string = PyBytes_AsString(stringval);
+        string = PyUnicode_AsString(parameter);
 
         rc = sqlite3_bind_text(self->st, pos, string, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
-        Py_DECREF(stringval);
     } else if (PyObject_CheckBuffer(parameter)) {
         if (PyObject_AsCharBuffer(parameter, &buffer, &buflen) == 0) {
             rc = sqlite3_bind_blob(self->st, pos, buffer, buflen, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
diff --git a/Modules/_struct.c b/Modules/_struct.c
index 84aa828..8f66a96 100644
--- a/Modules/_struct.c
+++ b/Modules/_struct.c
@@ -12,11 +12,6 @@
 
 static PyTypeObject PyStructType;
 
-/* compatibility macros */
-#if (PY_VERSION_HEX < 0x02050000)
-typedef int Py_ssize_t;
-#endif
-
 /* If PY_STRUCT_OVERFLOW_MASKING is defined, the struct module will wrap all input
    numbers for explicit endians such that they fit in the given type, much
    like explicit casting in C. A warning will be raised if the number did
@@ -411,7 +406,7 @@
 		if (msg == NULL)
 			return -1;
 		rval = PyErr_WarnEx(PyExc_DeprecationWarning,
-				    PyString_AS_STRING(msg), 2);
+				    PyUnicode_AsString(msg), 2);
 		Py_DECREF(msg);
 		if (rval == 0)
 			return 0;
@@ -1535,37 +1530,26 @@
 strings.");
 
 static PyObject *
-s_unpack(PyObject *self, PyObject *inputstr)
+s_unpack(PyObject *self, PyObject *input)
 {
-	char *start;
-	Py_ssize_t len;
-	PyObject *args=NULL, *result;
+	Py_buffer vbuf;
+	PyObject *result;
 	PyStructObject *soself = (PyStructObject *)self;
+
 	assert(PyStruct_Check(self));
 	assert(soself->s_codes != NULL);
-	if (inputstr == NULL)
-		goto fail;
-	if (PyString_Check(inputstr) &&
-		PyString_GET_SIZE(inputstr) == soself->s_size) {
-			return s_unpack_internal(soself, PyString_AS_STRING(inputstr));
-	}
-	args = PyTuple_Pack(1, inputstr);
-	if (args == NULL)
+	if (PyObject_GetBuffer(input, &vbuf, PyBUF_SIMPLE) < 0)
 		return NULL;
-	if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "s#:unpack", &start, &len))
-		goto fail;
-	if (soself->s_size != len)
-		goto fail;
-	result = s_unpack_internal(soself, start);
-	Py_DECREF(args);
+	if (vbuf.len != soself->s_size) {
+		PyErr_Format(StructError,
+			     "unpack requires a bytes argument of length %zd",
+			     soself->s_size);
+                PyObject_ReleaseBuffer(input, &vbuf);
+		return NULL;
+	}
+	result = s_unpack_internal(soself, vbuf.buf);
+	PyObject_ReleaseBuffer(input, &vbuf);
 	return result;
-
-fail:
-	Py_XDECREF(args);
-	PyErr_Format(StructError,
-		"unpack requires a string argument of length %zd",
-		soself->s_size);
-	return NULL;
 }
 
 PyDoc_STRVAR(s_unpack_from__doc__,
@@ -1580,37 +1564,34 @@
 s_unpack_from(PyObject *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwds)
 {
 	static char *kwlist[] = {"buffer", "offset", 0};
-#if (PY_VERSION_HEX < 0x02050000)
-	static char *fmt = "z#|i:unpack_from";
-#else
-	static char *fmt = "z#|n:unpack_from";
-#endif
-	Py_ssize_t buffer_len = 0, offset = 0;
-	char *buffer = NULL;
+
+	PyObject *input;
+	Py_ssize_t offset = 0;
+	Py_buffer vbuf;
+	PyObject *result;
 	PyStructObject *soself = (PyStructObject *)self;
+
 	assert(PyStruct_Check(self));
 	assert(soself->s_codes != NULL);
 
-	if (!PyArg_ParseTupleAndKeywords(args, kwds, fmt, kwlist,
-					 &buffer, &buffer_len, &offset))
+	if (!PyArg_ParseTupleAndKeywords(args, kwds,
+					 "O|n:unpack_from", kwlist,
+					 &input, &offset))
 		return NULL;
-
-	if (buffer == NULL) {
-		PyErr_Format(StructError,
-			"unpack_from requires a buffer argument");
+	if (PyObject_GetBuffer(input, &vbuf, PyBUF_SIMPLE) < 0)
 		return NULL;
-	}
-
 	if (offset < 0)
-		offset += buffer_len;
-
-	if (offset < 0 || (buffer_len - offset) < soself->s_size) {
+		offset += vbuf.len;
+	if (offset < 0 || vbuf.len - offset < soself->s_size) {
 		PyErr_Format(StructError,
 			"unpack_from requires a buffer of at least %zd bytes",
 			soself->s_size);
+                PyObject_ReleaseBuffer(input, &vbuf);
 		return NULL;
 	}
-	return s_unpack_internal(soself, buffer + offset);
+	result = s_unpack_internal(soself, (char*)vbuf.buf + offset);
+	PyObject_ReleaseBuffer(input, &vbuf);
+	return result;
 }
 
 
diff --git a/Modules/arraymodule.c b/Modules/arraymodule.c
index 8a24a7e..c7aeb5b 100644
--- a/Modules/arraymodule.c
+++ b/Modules/arraymodule.c
@@ -1212,14 +1212,14 @@
 	if (b == NULL)
 		return NULL;
 
-	if (!PyBytes_Check(b)) {
+	if (!PyString_Check(b)) {
 		PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
 				"read() didn't return bytes");
 		Py_DECREF(b);
 		return NULL;
 	}
 
-	if (PyBytes_GET_SIZE(b) != nbytes) {
+	if (PyString_GET_SIZE(b) != nbytes) {
 		PyErr_SetString(PyExc_EOFError,
 				"read() didn't return enough bytes");
 		Py_DECREF(b);
@@ -1263,7 +1263,7 @@
 		PyObject *bytes, *res;
 		if (i*BLOCKSIZE + size > nbytes)
 			size = nbytes - i*BLOCKSIZE;
-		bytes = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(ptr, size);
+		bytes = PyString_FromStringAndSize(ptr, size);
 		if (bytes == NULL)
 			return NULL;
 		res = PyObject_CallMethod(f, "write", "O", bytes);
@@ -1395,7 +1395,7 @@
 static PyObject *
 array_tostring(arrayobject *self, PyObject *unused)
 {
-	return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(self->ob_item,
+	return PyString_FromStringAndSize(self->ob_item,
                                          Py_Size(self) * self->ob_descr->itemsize);
 }
 
@@ -1861,6 +1861,7 @@
 
 	if (!(initial == NULL || PyList_Check(initial)
 	      || PyBytes_Check(initial)
+	      || PyString_Check(initial)
 	      || PyTuple_Check(initial)
 	      || ((c=='u') && PyUnicode_Check(initial)))) {
 		it = PyObject_GetIter(initial);
@@ -1904,7 +1905,9 @@
 					}
 					Py_DECREF(v);
 				}
-			} else if (initial != NULL && PyBytes_Check(initial)) {
+			}
+			else if (initial != NULL && (PyBytes_Check(initial) ||
+					   PyString_Check(initial))) {
 				PyObject *t_initial, *v;
 				t_initial = PyTuple_Pack(1, initial);
 				if (t_initial == NULL) {
@@ -1919,7 +1922,8 @@
 					return NULL;
 				}
 				Py_DECREF(v);
-			} else if (initial != NULL && PyUnicode_Check(initial))  {
+			}
+			else if (initial != NULL && PyUnicode_Check(initial))  {
 				Py_ssize_t n = PyUnicode_GET_DATA_SIZE(initial);
 				if (n > 0) {
 					arrayobject *self = (arrayobject *)a;
diff --git a/Modules/binascii.c b/Modules/binascii.c
index 3b55a35..62fc8c2 100644
--- a/Modules/binascii.c
+++ b/Modules/binascii.c
@@ -200,9 +200,9 @@
 	ascii_len--;
 
 	/* Allocate the buffer */
-	if ( (rv=PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, bin_len)) == NULL )
+	if ( (rv=PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, bin_len)) == NULL )
 		return NULL;
-	bin_data = (unsigned char *)PyBytes_AS_STRING(rv);
+	bin_data = (unsigned char *)PyString_AS_STRING(rv);
 
 	for( ; bin_len > 0 ; ascii_len--, ascii_data++ ) {
 		/* XXX is it really best to add NULs if there's no more data */
@@ -277,9 +277,9 @@
 	}
 
 	/* We're lazy and allocate to much (fixed up later) */
-	if ( (rv=PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, bin_len*2+2)) == NULL )
+	if ( (rv=PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, bin_len*2+2)) == NULL )
 		return NULL;
-	ascii_data = (unsigned char *)PyBytes_AS_STRING(rv);
+	ascii_data = (unsigned char *)PyString_AS_STRING(rv);
 
 	/* Store the length */
 	*ascii_data++ = ' ' + (bin_len & 077);
@@ -301,9 +301,9 @@
 	}
 	*ascii_data++ = '\n';	/* Append a courtesy newline */
 
-	if (PyBytes_Resize(rv,
+	if (_PyString_Resize(&rv,
                            (ascii_data -
-                            (unsigned char *)PyBytes_AS_STRING(rv))) < 0) {
+                            (unsigned char *)PyString_AS_STRING(rv))) < 0) {
 		Py_DECREF(rv);
 		rv = NULL;
 	}
@@ -355,9 +355,9 @@
 	bin_len = ((ascii_len+3)/4)*3; /* Upper bound, corrected later */
 
 	/* Allocate the buffer */
-	if ( (rv=PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, bin_len)) == NULL )
+	if ( (rv=PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, bin_len)) == NULL )
 		return NULL;
-	bin_data = (unsigned char *)PyBytes_AS_STRING(rv);
+	bin_data = (unsigned char *)PyString_AS_STRING(rv);
 	bin_len = 0;
 
 	for( ; ascii_len > 0; ascii_len--, ascii_data++) {
@@ -416,17 +416,17 @@
 
 	/* And set string size correctly. If the result string is empty
 	** (because the input was all invalid) return the shared empty
-	** string instead; PyBytes_Resize() won't do this for us.
+	** string instead; _PyString_Resize() won't do this for us.
 	*/
 	if (bin_len > 0) {
-		if (PyBytes_Resize(rv, bin_len) < 0) {
+		if (_PyString_Resize(&rv, bin_len) < 0) {
 			Py_DECREF(rv);
 			rv = NULL;
 		}
 	}
 	else {
 		Py_DECREF(rv);
-		rv = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
+		rv = PyString_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
 	}
 	return rv;
 }
@@ -453,9 +453,9 @@
 	/* We're lazy and allocate too much (fixed up later).
 	   "+3" leaves room for up to two pad characters and a trailing
 	   newline.  Note that 'b' gets encoded as 'Yg==\n' (1 in, 5 out). */
-	if ( (rv=PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, bin_len*2 + 3)) == NULL )
+	if ( (rv=PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, bin_len*2 + 3)) == NULL )
 		return NULL;
-	ascii_data = (unsigned char *)PyBytes_AS_STRING(rv);
+	ascii_data = (unsigned char *)PyString_AS_STRING(rv);
 
 	for( ; bin_len > 0 ; bin_len--, bin_data++ ) {
 		/* Shift the data into our buffer */
@@ -479,9 +479,9 @@
 	}
 	*ascii_data++ = '\n';	/* Append a courtesy newline */
 
-	if (PyBytes_Resize(rv,
+	if (_PyString_Resize(&rv,
 			   (ascii_data -
-			    (unsigned char *)PyBytes_AS_STRING(rv))) < 0) {
+			    (unsigned char *)PyString_AS_STRING(rv))) < 0) {
 		Py_DECREF(rv);
 		rv = NULL;
 	}
@@ -507,9 +507,9 @@
 	/* Allocate a string that is too big (fixed later) 
 	   Add two to the initial length to prevent interning which
 	   would preclude subsequent resizing.  */
-	if ( (rv=PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, len+2)) == NULL )
+	if ( (rv=PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, len+2)) == NULL )
 		return NULL;
-	bin_data = (unsigned char *)PyBytes_AS_STRING(rv);
+	bin_data = (unsigned char *)PyString_AS_STRING(rv);
 
 	for( ; len > 0 ; len--, ascii_data++ ) {
 		/* Get the byte and look it up */
@@ -543,9 +543,9 @@
 		Py_DECREF(rv);
 		return NULL;
 	}
-	if (PyBytes_Resize(rv,
+	if (_PyString_Resize(&rv,
 			   (bin_data -
-			    (unsigned char *)PyBytes_AS_STRING(rv))) < 0) {
+			    (unsigned char *)PyString_AS_STRING(rv))) < 0) {
 		Py_DECREF(rv);
 		rv = NULL;
 	}
@@ -572,9 +572,9 @@
 		return NULL;
 
 	/* Worst case: output is twice as big as input (fixed later) */
-	if ( (rv=PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, len*2+2)) == NULL )
+	if ( (rv=PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, len*2+2)) == NULL )
 		return NULL;
-	out_data = (unsigned char *)PyBytes_AS_STRING(rv);
+	out_data = (unsigned char *)PyString_AS_STRING(rv);
 
 	for( in=0; in<len; in++) {
 		ch = in_data[in];
@@ -600,9 +600,9 @@
 			}
 		}
 	}
-	if (PyBytes_Resize(rv,
+	if (_PyString_Resize(&rv,
 			   (out_data -
-			    (unsigned char *)PyBytes_AS_STRING(rv))) < 0) {
+			    (unsigned char *)PyString_AS_STRING(rv))) < 0) {
 		Py_DECREF(rv);
 		rv = NULL;
 	}
@@ -625,9 +625,9 @@
 		return NULL;
 
 	/* Allocate a buffer that is at least large enough */
-	if ( (rv=PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, len*2+2)) == NULL )
+	if ( (rv=PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, len*2+2)) == NULL )
 		return NULL;
-	ascii_data = (unsigned char *)PyBytes_AS_STRING(rv);
+	ascii_data = (unsigned char *)PyString_AS_STRING(rv);
 
 	for( ; len > 0 ; len--, bin_data++ ) {
 		/* Shift into our buffer, and output any 6bits ready */
@@ -644,9 +644,9 @@
 		leftchar <<= (6-leftbits);
 		*ascii_data++ = table_b2a_hqx[leftchar & 0x3f];
 	}
-	if (PyBytes_Resize(rv,
+	if (_PyString_Resize(&rv,
 			   (ascii_data -
-			    (unsigned char *)PyBytes_AS_STRING(rv))) < 0) {
+			    (unsigned char *)PyString_AS_STRING(rv))) < 0) {
 		Py_DECREF(rv);
 		rv = NULL;
 	}
@@ -668,14 +668,14 @@
 
 	/* Empty string is a special case */
 	if ( in_len == 0 )
-		return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
+		return PyString_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
 
 	/* Allocate a buffer of reasonable size. Resized when needed */
 	out_len = in_len*2;
-	if ( (rv=PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, out_len)) == NULL )
+	if ( (rv=PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, out_len)) == NULL )
 		return NULL;
 	out_len_left = out_len;
-	out_data = (unsigned char *)PyBytes_AS_STRING(rv);
+	out_data = (unsigned char *)PyString_AS_STRING(rv);
 
 	/*
 	** We need two macros here to get/put bytes and handle
@@ -694,9 +694,9 @@
 #define OUTBYTE(b) \
 	do { \
 		 if ( --out_len_left < 0 ) { \
-			  if (PyBytes_Resize(rv, 2*out_len) < 0) \
+			  if (_PyString_Resize(&rv, 2*out_len) < 0) \
 			    { Py_DECREF(rv); return NULL; } \
-			  out_data = (unsigned char *)PyBytes_AS_STRING(rv) \
+			  out_data = (unsigned char *)PyString_AS_STRING(rv) \
 								 + out_len; \
 			  out_len_left = out_len-1; \
 			  out_len = out_len * 2; \
@@ -744,9 +744,9 @@
 			OUTBYTE(in_byte);
 		}
 	}
-	if (PyBytes_Resize(rv,
+	if (_PyString_Resize(&rv,
 			   (out_data -
-			    (unsigned char *)PyBytes_AS_STRING(rv))) < 0) {
+			    (unsigned char *)PyString_AS_STRING(rv))) < 0) {
 		Py_DECREF(rv);
 		rv = NULL;
 	}
@@ -940,10 +940,10 @@
 	if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "s#:b2a_hex", &argbuf, &arglen))
 		return NULL;
 
-	retval = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, arglen*2);
+	retval = PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, arglen*2);
 	if (!retval)
 		return NULL;
-	retbuf = PyBytes_AS_STRING(retval);
+	retbuf = PyString_AS_STRING(retval);
 
 	/* make hex version of string, taken from shamodule.c */
 	for (i=j=0; i < arglen; i++) {
@@ -1000,10 +1000,10 @@
 		return NULL;
 	}
 
-	retval = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, (arglen/2));
+	retval = PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, (arglen/2));
 	if (!retval)
 		return NULL;
-	retbuf = PyBytes_AS_STRING(retval);
+	retbuf = PyString_AS_STRING(retval);
 
 	for (i=j=0; i < arglen; i += 2) {
 		int top = to_int(Py_CHARMASK(argbuf[i]));
@@ -1115,7 +1115,7 @@
 			out++;
 		}
 	}
-	if ((rv = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize((char *)odata, out)) == NULL) {
+	if ((rv = PyString_FromStringAndSize((char *)odata, out)) == NULL) {
 		PyMem_Free(odata);
 		return NULL;
 	}
@@ -1315,7 +1315,7 @@
 			}
 		}
 	}
-	if ((rv = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize((char *)odata, out)) == NULL) {
+	if ((rv = PyString_FromStringAndSize((char *)odata, out)) == NULL) {
 		PyMem_Free(odata);
 		return NULL;
 	}
diff --git a/Modules/bz2module.c b/Modules/bz2module.c
index 15b6e44..e0fbb57 100644
--- a/Modules/bz2module.c
+++ b/Modules/bz2module.c
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@
 #error "Large file support, but neither off_t nor fpos_t is large enough."
 #endif
 
-#define BUF(v) PyBytes_AS_STRING(v)
+#define BUF(v) PyString_AS_STRING(v)
 
 #define MODE_CLOSED   0
 #define MODE_READ     1
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@
 	int bytes_read;
 
 	total_v_size = n > 0 ? n : 100;
-	v = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize((char *)NULL, total_v_size);
+	v = PyString_FromStringAndSize((char *)NULL, total_v_size);
 	if (v == NULL)
 		return NULL;
 
@@ -272,8 +272,7 @@
 			Py_DECREF(v);
 			return NULL;
 		}
-		if (PyBytes_Resize(v, total_v_size) < 0) {
-			Py_DECREF(v);
+		if (_PyString_Resize(&v, total_v_size) < 0) {
 			return NULL;
 		}
 		buf = BUF(v) + used_v_size;
@@ -282,8 +281,7 @@
 
 	used_v_size = buf - BUF(v);
 	if (used_v_size != total_v_size) {
-		if (PyBytes_Resize(v, used_v_size) < 0) {
-			Py_DECREF(v);
+		if (_PyString_Resize(&v, used_v_size) < 0) {
 			v = NULL;
 		}
 	}
@@ -340,10 +338,10 @@
 
 /* This is a hacked version of Python's
  * fileobject.c:readahead_get_line_skip(). */
-static PyBytesObject *
+static PyStringObject *
 Util_ReadAheadGetLineSkip(BZ2FileObject *f, int skip, int bufsize)
 {
-	PyBytesObject* s;
+	PyStringObject* s;
 	char *bufptr;
 	char *buf;
 	int len;
@@ -354,17 +352,17 @@
 
 	len = f->f_bufend - f->f_bufptr;
 	if (len == 0)
-		return (PyBytesObject *)
-			PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, skip);
+		return (PyStringObject *)
+			PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, skip);
 	bufptr = memchr(f->f_bufptr, '\n', len);
 	if (bufptr != NULL) {
 		bufptr++;			/* Count the '\n' */
 		len = bufptr - f->f_bufptr;
-		s = (PyBytesObject *)
-			PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, skip+len);
+		s = (PyStringObject *)
+			PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, skip+len);
 		if (s == NULL)
 			return NULL;
-		memcpy(PyBytes_AS_STRING(s)+skip, f->f_bufptr, len);
+		memcpy(PyString_AS_STRING(s)+skip, f->f_bufptr, len);
 		f->f_bufptr = bufptr;
 		if (bufptr == f->f_bufend)
 			Util_DropReadAhead(f);
@@ -378,7 +376,7 @@
 		        PyMem_Free(buf);
 			return NULL;
 		}
-		memcpy(PyBytes_AS_STRING(s)+skip, bufptr, len);
+		memcpy(PyString_AS_STRING(s)+skip, bufptr, len);
 		PyMem_Free(buf);
 	}
 	return s;
@@ -411,7 +409,7 @@
 		case MODE_READ:
 			break;
 		case MODE_READ_EOF:
-			ret = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
+			ret = PyString_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
 			goto cleanup;
 		case MODE_CLOSED:
 			PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError,
@@ -433,7 +431,7 @@
 				"more than a Python string can hold");
 		goto cleanup;
 	}
-	ret = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize((char *)NULL, buffersize);
+	ret = PyString_FromStringAndSize((char *)NULL, buffersize);
 	if (ret == NULL || buffersize == 0)
 		goto cleanup;
 	bytesread = 0;
@@ -458,8 +456,7 @@
 		}
 		if (bytesrequested < 0) {
 			buffersize = Util_NewBufferSize(buffersize);
-			if (PyBytes_Resize(ret, buffersize) < 0) {
-				Py_DECREF(ret);
+			if (_PyString_Resize(&ret, buffersize) < 0) {
 				ret = NULL;
 				goto cleanup;
 			}
@@ -468,8 +465,7 @@
 		}
 	}
 	if (bytesread != buffersize) {
-		if (PyBytes_Resize(ret, bytesread) < 0) {
-			Py_DECREF(ret);
+		if (_PyString_Resize(&ret, bytesread) < 0) {
 			ret = NULL;
 		}
 	}
@@ -502,7 +498,7 @@
 		case MODE_READ:
 			break;
 		case MODE_READ_EOF:
-			ret = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
+			ret = PyString_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
 			goto cleanup;
 		case MODE_CLOSED:
 			PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError,
@@ -515,7 +511,7 @@
 	}
 
 	if (sizehint == 0)
-		ret = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
+		ret = PyString_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
 	else
 		ret = Util_GetLine(self, (sizehint < 0) ? 0 : sizehint);
 
@@ -608,21 +604,20 @@
 			}
 			if (big_buffer == NULL) {
 				/* Create the big buffer */
-				big_buffer = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(
+				big_buffer = PyString_FromStringAndSize(
 					NULL, buffersize);
 				if (big_buffer == NULL)
 					goto error;
-				buffer = PyBytes_AS_STRING(big_buffer);
+				buffer = PyString_AS_STRING(big_buffer);
 				memcpy(buffer, small_buffer, nfilled);
 			}
 			else {
 				/* Grow the big buffer */
-				if (PyBytes_Resize(big_buffer, buffersize) < 0){
-					Py_DECREF(big_buffer);
+				if (_PyString_Resize(&big_buffer, buffersize) < 0){
 					big_buffer = NULL;
 					goto error;
 				}
-				buffer = PyBytes_AS_STRING(big_buffer);
+				buffer = PyString_AS_STRING(big_buffer);
 			}
 			continue;
 		}
@@ -631,7 +626,7 @@
 		while (p != NULL) {
 			/* Process complete lines */
 			p++;
-			line = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(q, p-q);
+			line = PyString_FromStringAndSize(q, p-q);
 			if (line == NULL)
 				goto error;
 			err = PyList_Append(list, line);
@@ -654,21 +649,18 @@
 	}
 	if (nfilled != 0) {
 		/* Partial last line */
-		line = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(buffer, nfilled);
+		line = PyString_FromStringAndSize(buffer, nfilled);
 		if (line == NULL)
 			goto error;
 		if (sizehint > 0) {
 			/* Need to complete the last line */
 			PyObject *rest = Util_GetLine(self, 0);
-			PyObject *new;
 			if (rest == NULL) {
 				Py_DECREF(line);
 				goto error;
 			}
-			new = PyBytes_Concat(line, rest);
-			Py_DECREF(line);
+			PyString_Concat(&line, rest);
 			Py_DECREF(rest);
-			line = new;
 			if (line == NULL)
 				goto error;
 		}
@@ -702,7 +694,7 @@
 	int len;
 	int bzerror;
 
-	if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "s#:write", &buf, &len))
+	if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "y#:write", &buf, &len))
 		return NULL;
 
 	ACQUIRE_LOCK(self);
@@ -820,7 +812,7 @@
 		   could potentially execute Python code. */
 		for (i = 0; i < j; i++) {
 			PyObject *v = PyList_GET_ITEM(list, i);
-			if (!PyBytes_Check(v)) {
+			if (!PyString_Check(v)) {
 			    	const char *buffer;
 			    	Py_ssize_t len;
 				if (PyObject_AsCharBuffer(v, &buffer, &len)) {
@@ -831,7 +823,7 @@
 							"bytes objects");
 					goto error;
 				}
-				line = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(buffer,
+				line = PyString_FromStringAndSize(buffer,
 								  len);
 				if (line == NULL)
 					goto error;
@@ -845,9 +837,9 @@
 		Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS
 		for (i = 0; i < j; i++) {
 		    	line = PyList_GET_ITEM(list, i);
-			len = PyBytes_GET_SIZE(line);
+			len = PyString_GET_SIZE(line);
 			BZ2_bzWrite (&bzerror, self->fp,
-				     PyBytes_AS_STRING(line), len);
+				     PyString_AS_STRING(line), len);
 			if (bzerror != BZ_OK) {
 				Py_BLOCK_THREADS
 				Util_CatchBZ2Error(bzerror);
@@ -1269,7 +1261,7 @@
 static PyObject *
 BZ2File_iternext(BZ2FileObject *self)
 {
-	PyBytesObject* ret;
+	PyStringObject* ret;
 	ACQUIRE_LOCK(self);
 	if (self->mode == MODE_CLOSED) {
 		PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError,
@@ -1278,7 +1270,7 @@
 	}
 	ret = Util_ReadAheadGetLineSkip(self, 0, READAHEAD_BUFSIZE);
 	RELEASE_LOCK(self);
-	if (ret == NULL || PyBytes_GET_SIZE(ret) == 0) {
+	if (ret == NULL || PyString_GET_SIZE(ret) == 0) {
 		Py_XDECREF(ret);
 		return NULL;
 	}
@@ -1367,11 +1359,11 @@
 	bz_stream *bzs = &self->bzs;
 	int bzerror;
 
-	if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "s#:compress", &data, &datasize))
+	if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "y#:compress", &data, &datasize))
 		return NULL;
 
 	if (datasize == 0)
-		return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
+		return PyString_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
 
 	ACQUIRE_LOCK(self);
 	if (!self->running) {
@@ -1380,7 +1372,7 @@
 		goto error;
 	}
 
-	ret = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, bufsize);
+	ret = PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, bufsize);
 	if (!ret)
 		goto error;
 
@@ -1403,7 +1395,7 @@
 			break; /* no more input data */
 		if (bzs->avail_out == 0) {
 			bufsize = Util_NewBufferSize(bufsize);
-			if (PyBytes_Resize(ret, bufsize) < 0) {
+			if (_PyString_Resize(&ret, bufsize) < 0) {
 				BZ2_bzCompressEnd(bzs);
 				goto error;
 			}
@@ -1413,7 +1405,7 @@
 		}
 	}
 
-	if (PyBytes_Resize(ret,
+	if (_PyString_Resize(&ret,
 			   (Py_ssize_t)(BZS_TOTAL_OUT(bzs) - totalout)) < 0)
 		goto error;
 
@@ -1450,7 +1442,7 @@
 	}
 	self->running = 0;
 
-	ret = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, bufsize);
+	ret = PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, bufsize);
 	if (!ret)
 		goto error;
 
@@ -1471,7 +1463,7 @@
 		}
 		if (bzs->avail_out == 0) {
 			bufsize = Util_NewBufferSize(bufsize);
-			if (PyBytes_Resize(ret, bufsize) < 0)
+			if (_PyString_Resize(&ret, bufsize) < 0)
 				goto error;
 			bzs->next_out = BUF(ret);
 			bzs->next_out = BUF(ret) + (BZS_TOTAL_OUT(bzs)
@@ -1481,7 +1473,7 @@
 	}
 
 	if (bzs->avail_out != 0) {
-		if (PyBytes_Resize(ret,
+		if (_PyString_Resize(&ret,
 			    (Py_ssize_t)(BZS_TOTAL_OUT(bzs) - totalout)) < 0)
 			goto error;
 	}
@@ -1656,7 +1648,7 @@
 	bz_stream *bzs = &self->bzs;
 	int bzerror;
 
-	if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "s#:decompress", &data, &datasize))
+	if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "y#:decompress", &data, &datasize))
 		return NULL;
 
 	ACQUIRE_LOCK(self);
@@ -1666,7 +1658,7 @@
 		goto error;
 	}
 
-	ret = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, bufsize);
+	ret = PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, bufsize);
 	if (!ret)
 		goto error;
 
@@ -1685,7 +1677,7 @@
 			if (bzs->avail_in != 0) {
 				Py_DECREF(self->unused_data);
 				self->unused_data =
-				    PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(bzs->next_in,
+				    PyString_FromStringAndSize(bzs->next_in,
 							       bzs->avail_in);
 			}
 			self->running = 0;
@@ -1699,7 +1691,7 @@
 			break; /* no more input data */
 		if (bzs->avail_out == 0) {
 			bufsize = Util_NewBufferSize(bufsize);
-			if (PyBytes_Resize(ret, bufsize) < 0) {
+			if (_PyString_Resize(&ret, bufsize) < 0) {
 				BZ2_bzDecompressEnd(bzs);
 				goto error;
 			}
@@ -1711,7 +1703,7 @@
 	}
 
 	if (bzs->avail_out != 0) {
-		if (PyBytes_Resize(ret,
+		if (_PyString_Resize(&ret,
 			    (Py_ssize_t)(BZS_TOTAL_OUT(bzs) - totalout)) < 0)
 			goto error;
 	}
@@ -1750,7 +1742,7 @@
 	}
 #endif
 
-	self->unused_data = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
+	self->unused_data = PyString_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
 	if (!self->unused_data)
 		goto error;
 
@@ -1868,7 +1860,7 @@
 	int bzerror;
 	static char *kwlist[] = {"data", "compresslevel", 0};
 
-	if (!PyArg_ParseTupleAndKeywords(args, kwargs, "s#|i",
+	if (!PyArg_ParseTupleAndKeywords(args, kwargs, "y#|i",
 					 kwlist, &data, &datasize,
 					 &compresslevel))
 		return NULL;
@@ -1883,7 +1875,7 @@
 	 * data in one shot. We will check it later anyway. */
 	bufsize = datasize + (datasize/100+1) + 600;
 
-	ret = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, bufsize);
+	ret = PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, bufsize);
 	if (!ret)
 		return NULL;
 
@@ -1915,9 +1907,8 @@
 		}
 		if (bzs->avail_out == 0) {
 			bufsize = Util_NewBufferSize(bufsize);
-			if (PyBytes_Resize(ret, bufsize) < 0) {
+			if (_PyString_Resize(&ret, bufsize) < 0) {
 				BZ2_bzCompressEnd(bzs);
-				Py_DECREF(ret);
 				return NULL;
 			}
 			bzs->next_out = BUF(ret) + BZS_TOTAL_OUT(bzs);
@@ -1926,8 +1917,7 @@
 	}
 
 	if (bzs->avail_out != 0) {
-		if (PyBytes_Resize(ret, (Py_ssize_t)BZS_TOTAL_OUT(bzs)) < 0) {
-			Py_DECREF(ret);
+		if (_PyString_Resize(&ret, (Py_ssize_t)BZS_TOTAL_OUT(bzs)) < 0) {
 			ret = NULL;
 		}
 	}
@@ -1954,13 +1944,13 @@
 	bz_stream *bzs = &_bzs;
 	int bzerror;
 
-	if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "s#:decompress", &data, &datasize))
+	if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "y#:decompress", &data, &datasize))
 		return NULL;
 
 	if (datasize == 0)
-		return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
+		return PyString_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
 
-	ret = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, bufsize);
+	ret = PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, bufsize);
 	if (!ret)
 		return NULL;
 
@@ -1999,9 +1989,8 @@
 		}
 		if (bzs->avail_out == 0) {
 			bufsize = Util_NewBufferSize(bufsize);
-			if (PyBytes_Resize(ret, bufsize) < 0) {
+			if (_PyString_Resize(&ret, bufsize) < 0) {
 				BZ2_bzDecompressEnd(bzs);
-				Py_DECREF(ret);
 				return NULL;
 			}
 			bzs->next_out = BUF(ret) + BZS_TOTAL_OUT(bzs);
@@ -2010,8 +1999,7 @@
 	}
 
 	if (bzs->avail_out != 0) {
-		if (PyBytes_Resize(ret, (Py_ssize_t)BZS_TOTAL_OUT(bzs)) < 0) {
-			Py_DECREF(ret);
+		if (_PyString_Resize(&ret, (Py_ssize_t)BZS_TOTAL_OUT(bzs)) < 0) {
 			ret = NULL;
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/Modules/cjkcodecs/multibytecodec.c b/Modules/cjkcodecs/multibytecodec.c
index 7ab3145..701b112 100644
--- a/Modules/cjkcodecs/multibytecodec.c
+++ b/Modules/cjkcodecs/multibytecodec.c
@@ -175,15 +175,15 @@
 	Py_ssize_t orgpos, orgsize;
 
 	orgpos = (Py_ssize_t)((char *)buf->outbuf -
-				PyBytes_AS_STRING(buf->outobj));
-	orgsize = PyBytes_GET_SIZE(buf->outobj);
-	if (PyBytes_Resize(buf->outobj, orgsize + (
+				PyString_AS_STRING(buf->outobj));
+	orgsize = PyString_GET_SIZE(buf->outobj);
+	if (_PyString_Resize(&buf->outobj, orgsize + (
 	    esize < (orgsize >> 1) ? (orgsize >> 1) | 1 : esize)) == -1)
 		return -1;
 
-	buf->outbuf = (unsigned char *)PyBytes_AS_STRING(buf->outobj) +orgpos;
-	buf->outbuf_end = (unsigned char *)PyBytes_AS_STRING(buf->outobj)
-		+ PyBytes_GET_SIZE(buf->outobj);
+	buf->outbuf = (unsigned char *)PyString_AS_STRING(buf->outobj) +orgpos;
+	buf->outbuf_end = (unsigned char *)PyString_AS_STRING(buf->outobj)
+		+ PyString_GET_SIZE(buf->outobj);
 
 	return 0;
 }
@@ -330,11 +330,11 @@
 			goto errorexit;
 	}
 
-        assert(PyBytes_Check(retstr));
-	retstrsize = PyBytes_GET_SIZE(retstr);
+        assert(PyString_Check(retstr));
+	retstrsize = PyString_GET_SIZE(retstr);
 	REQUIRE_ENCODEBUFFER(buf, retstrsize);
 
-	memcpy(buf->outbuf, PyBytes_AS_STRING(retstr), retstrsize);
+	memcpy(buf->outbuf, PyString_AS_STRING(retstr), retstrsize);
 	buf->outbuf += retstrsize;
 
 	newpos = PyInt_AsSsize_t(PyTuple_GET_ITEM(retobj, 1));
@@ -476,16 +476,16 @@
 	Py_ssize_t finalsize, r = 0;
 
 	if (datalen == 0)
-		return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, 0);
+		return PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, 0);
 
 	buf.excobj = NULL;
 	buf.inbuf = buf.inbuf_top = *data;
 	buf.inbuf_end = buf.inbuf_top + datalen;
-	buf.outobj = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(NULL, datalen * 2 + 16);
+	buf.outobj = PyString_FromStringAndSize(NULL, datalen * 2 + 16);
 	if (buf.outobj == NULL)
 		goto errorexit;
-	buf.outbuf = (unsigned char *)PyBytes_AS_STRING(buf.outobj);
-	buf.outbuf_end = buf.outbuf + PyBytes_GET_SIZE(buf.outobj);
+	buf.outbuf = (unsigned char *)PyString_AS_STRING(buf.outobj);
+	buf.outbuf_end = buf.outbuf + PyString_GET_SIZE(buf.outobj);
 
 	while (buf.inbuf < buf.inbuf_end) {
 		Py_ssize_t inleft, outleft;
@@ -520,10 +520,10 @@
 		}
 
 	finalsize = (Py_ssize_t)((char *)buf.outbuf -
-				 PyBytes_AS_STRING(buf.outobj));
+				 PyString_AS_STRING(buf.outobj));
 
-	if (finalsize != PyBytes_GET_SIZE(buf.outobj))
-		if (PyBytes_Resize(buf.outobj, finalsize) == -1)
+	if (finalsize != PyString_GET_SIZE(buf.outobj))
+		if (_PyString_Resize(&buf.outobj, finalsize) == -1)
 			goto errorexit;
 
 	Py_XDECREF(buf.excobj);
@@ -1611,8 +1611,8 @@
 	if (pwrt == NULL)
 		return NULL;
 
-        assert(PyBytes_Check(pwrt));
-	if (PyBytes_Size(pwrt) > 0) {
+        assert(PyString_Check(pwrt));
+	if (PyString_Size(pwrt) > 0) {
 		PyObject *wr;
 		wr = PyObject_CallMethod(self->stream, "write", "O", pwrt);
 		if (wr == NULL) {
diff --git a/Modules/datetimemodule.c b/Modules/datetimemodule.c
index 6f13a85..6b2cd5a 100644
--- a/Modules/datetimemodule.c
+++ b/Modules/datetimemodule.c
@@ -1133,7 +1133,7 @@
 {
 	PyObject *temp;
 	PyObject *tzinfo = get_tzinfo_member(object);
-	PyObject *Zreplacement = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
+	PyObject *Zreplacement = PyUnicode_FromStringAndSize(NULL, 0);
 	if (Zreplacement == NULL)
 		return NULL;
 	if (tzinfo == Py_None || tzinfo == NULL)
@@ -1158,14 +1158,7 @@
 	Py_DECREF(temp);
 	if (Zreplacement == NULL)
 		return NULL;
-	if (PyUnicode_Check(Zreplacement)) {
-		PyObject *tmp = PyUnicode_AsUTF8String(Zreplacement);
-		Py_DECREF(Zreplacement);
-		if (tmp == NULL)
-			return NULL;
-		Zreplacement = tmp;
-	}
-	if (!PyBytes_Check(Zreplacement)) {
+	if (!PyUnicode_Check(Zreplacement)) {
 		PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
 				"tzname.replace() did not return a string");
 		goto Error;
@@ -1297,9 +1290,10 @@
 					goto Done;
 			}
 			assert(Zreplacement != NULL);
-			assert(PyBytes_Check(Zreplacement));
-			ptoappend = PyBytes_AS_STRING(Zreplacement);
-			ntoappend = PyBytes_GET_SIZE(Zreplacement);
+			assert(PyUnicode_Check(Zreplacement));
+			ptoappend = PyUnicode_AsStringAndSize(Zreplacement,
+                                                              &ntoappend);
+			ntoappend = Py_Size(Zreplacement);
 		}
 		else {
 			/* percent followed by neither z nor Z */
@@ -3194,7 +3188,7 @@
 	PyObject *tuple;
 	static char *keywords[] = {"format", NULL};
 
-	if (! PyArg_ParseTupleAndKeywords(args, kw, "S:strftime", keywords,
+	if (! PyArg_ParseTupleAndKeywords(args, kw, "U:strftime", keywords,
 					  &format))
 		return NULL;
 
diff --git a/Modules/dbmmodule.c b/Modules/dbmmodule.c
index 5660882..6b05fad 100644
--- a/Modules/dbmmodule.c
+++ b/Modules/dbmmodule.c
@@ -219,14 +219,14 @@
 		if (arg == NULL)
 			return -1;
 	}
-	if (!PyBytes_Check(arg)) {
+	if (!PyString_Check(arg)) {
 		PyErr_Format(PyExc_TypeError,
 			     "dbm key must be string, not %.100s",
 			     arg->ob_type->tp_name);
 		return -1;
 	}
-	key.dptr = PyBytes_AS_STRING(arg);
-	key.dsize = PyBytes_GET_SIZE(arg);
+	key.dptr = PyString_AS_STRING(arg);
+	key.dsize = PyString_GET_SIZE(arg);
 	val = dbm_fetch(dp->di_dbm, key);
 	return val.dptr != NULL;
 }
diff --git a/Modules/gdbmmodule.c b/Modules/gdbmmodule.c
index 5ee9c9a..86f98c0 100644
--- a/Modules/gdbmmodule.c
+++ b/Modules/gdbmmodule.c
@@ -251,14 +251,14 @@
 			"GDBM object has already been closed");
 	return -1;
     }
-    if (!PyBytes_Check(arg)) {
+    if (!PyString_Check(arg)) {
 	PyErr_Format(PyExc_TypeError,
 		     "gdbm key must be bytes, not %.100s",
 		     arg->ob_type->tp_name);
 	return -1;
     }
-    key.dptr = PyBytes_AsString(arg);
-    key.dsize = PyBytes_Size(arg);
+    key.dptr = PyString_AS_STRING(arg);
+    key.dsize = PyString_GET_SIZE(arg);
     return gdbm_exists(dp->di_dbm, key);
 }
 
diff --git a/Modules/main.c b/Modules/main.c
index b15f1714..ee4a1b8 100644
--- a/Modules/main.c
+++ b/Modules/main.c
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
 static int  orig_argc;
 
 /* command line options */
-#define BASE_OPTS "c:dEhim:OStuvVW:xX?"
+#define BASE_OPTS "bc:dEhim:OStuvVW:xX?"
 
 #define PROGRAM_OPTS BASE_OPTS
 
@@ -55,32 +55,34 @@
 /* Long usage message, split into parts < 512 bytes */
 static char *usage_1 = "\
 Options and arguments (and corresponding environment variables):\n\
+-b     : issue warnings about str(bytes_instance), str(buffer_instance)\n\
+         and comparing bytes/buffer with str. (-bb: issue errors)\n\
 -c cmd : program passed in as string (terminates option list)\n\
 -d     : debug output from parser; also PYTHONDEBUG=x\n\
 -E     : ignore environment variables (such as PYTHONPATH)\n\
 -h     : print this help message and exit (also --help)\n\
--i     : inspect interactively after running script; forces a prompt even\n\
-         if stdin does not appear to be a terminal; also PYTHONINSPECT=x\n\
 ";
 static char *usage_2 = "\
+-i     : inspect interactively after running script; forces a prompt even\n\
+         if stdin does not appear to be a terminal; also PYTHONINSPECT=x\n\
 -m mod : run library module as a script (terminates option list)\n\
 -O     : optimize generated bytecode slightly; also PYTHONOPTIMIZE=x\n\
 -OO    : remove doc-strings in addition to the -O optimizations\n\
 -S     : don't imply 'import site' on initialization\n\
 -t     : issue warnings about inconsistent tab usage (-tt: issue errors)\n\
--u     : unbuffered binary stdout and stderr; also PYTHONUNBUFFERED=x\n\
 ";
 static char *usage_3 = "\
+-u     : unbuffered binary stdout and stderr; also PYTHONUNBUFFERED=x\n\
          see man page for details on internal buffering relating to '-u'\n\
 -v     : verbose (trace import statements); also PYTHONVERBOSE=x\n\
          can be supplied multiple times to increase verbosity\n\
 -V     : print the Python version number and exit (also --version)\n\
 -W arg : warning control; arg is action:message:category:module:lineno\n\
 -x     : skip first line of source, allowing use of non-Unix forms of #!cmd\n\
-file   : program read from script file\n\
--      : program read from stdin (default; interactive mode if a tty)\n\
 ";
 static char *usage_4 = "\
+file   : program read from script file\n\
+-      : program read from stdin (default; interactive mode if a tty)\n\
 arg ...: arguments passed to program in sys.argv[1:]\n\n\
 Other environment variables:\n\
 PYTHONSTARTUP: file executed on interactive startup (no default)\n\
@@ -252,6 +254,9 @@
 		}
 
 		switch (c) {
+		case 'b':
+			Py_BytesWarningFlag++;
+			break;
 
 		case 'd':
 			Py_DebugFlag++;
diff --git a/Modules/md5module.c b/Modules/md5module.c
index 26f0e4c..c5770b3 100644
--- a/Modules/md5module.c
+++ b/Modules/md5module.c
@@ -363,7 +363,7 @@
 
     temp = self->hash_state;
     md5_done(&temp, digest);
-    return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize((const char *)digest, MD5_DIGESTSIZE);
+    return PyString_FromStringAndSize((const char *)digest, MD5_DIGESTSIZE);
 }
 
 PyDoc_STRVAR(MD5_hexdigest__doc__,
diff --git a/Modules/mmapmodule.c b/Modules/mmapmodule.c
index e5d7711..1a58f3d 100644
--- a/Modules/mmapmodule.c
+++ b/Modules/mmapmodule.c
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@
                 return 0;
         }
 	if ((self->access == ACCESS_WRITE) || (self->access == ACCESS_DEFAULT))
-		return 1;        
+		return 1;
 	PyErr_Format(PyExc_TypeError,
 		     "mmap can't resize a readonly or copy-on-write memory map.");
 	return 0;
@@ -621,10 +621,10 @@
 /* Functions for treating an mmap'ed file as a buffer */
 
 static int
-mmap_buffer_getbuf(mmap_object *self, Py_buffer *view, int flags) 
+mmap_buffer_getbuf(mmap_object *self, Py_buffer *view, int flags)
 {
 	CHECK_VALID(-1);
-        if (PyBuffer_FillInfo(view, self->data, self->size, 
+        if (PyBuffer_FillInfo(view, self->data, self->size,
                               (self->access == ACCESS_READ), flags) < 0)
                 return -1;
         self->exports++;
@@ -676,7 +676,7 @@
 				"mmap index out of range");
 			return NULL;
 		}
-		return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(self->data + i, 1);
+		return PyInt_FromLong(Py_CHARMASK(self->data[i]));
 	}
 	else if (PySlice_Check(item)) {
 		Py_ssize_t start, stop, step, slicelen;
@@ -685,12 +685,12 @@
 				 &start, &stop, &step, &slicelen) < 0) {
 			return NULL;
 		}
-		
+
 		if (slicelen <= 0)
-			return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
+			return PyString_FromStringAndSize("", 0);
 		else if (step == 1)
-			return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(self->data + start,
-							 slicelen);
+			return PyString_FromStringAndSize(self->data + start,
+							  slicelen);
 		else {
 			char *result_buf = (char *)PyMem_Malloc(slicelen);
 			Py_ssize_t cur, i;
@@ -702,8 +702,8 @@
 			     cur += step, i++) {
 			     	result_buf[i] = self->data[cur];
 			}
-			result = PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(result_buf,
-							   slicelen);
+			result = PyString_FromStringAndSize(result_buf,
+							    slicelen);
 			PyMem_Free(result_buf);
 			return result;
 		}
@@ -765,9 +765,12 @@
 {
 	CHECK_VALID(-1);
 
+	if (!is_writable(self))
+		return -1;
+
 	if (PyIndex_Check(item)) {
 		Py_ssize_t i = PyNumber_AsSsize_t(item, PyExc_IndexError);
-		const char *buf;
+		Py_ssize_t v;
 
 		if (i == -1 && PyErr_Occurred())
 			return -1;
@@ -775,28 +778,35 @@
 			i += self->size;
 		if (i < 0 || (size_t)i > self->size) {
 			PyErr_SetString(PyExc_IndexError,
-				"mmap index out of range");
+					"mmap index out of range");
 			return -1;
 		}
 		if (value == NULL) {
 			PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
-				"mmap object doesn't support item deletion");
+					"mmap doesn't support item deletion");
 			return -1;
 		}
-		if (!PyBytes_Check(value) || PyBytes_Size(value) != 1) {
-			PyErr_SetString(PyExc_IndexError,
-		          "mmap assignment must be length-1 bytes()");
+		if (!PyIndex_Check(value)) {
+			PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
+					"mmap item value must be an int");
 			return -1;
 		}
-		if (!is_writable(self))
+		v = PyNumber_AsSsize_t(value, PyExc_TypeError);
+		if (v == -1 && PyErr_Occurred())
 			return -1;
-		buf = PyBytes_AsString(value);
-		self->data[i] = buf[0];
+		if (v < 0 || v > 255) {
+			PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError,
+					"mmap item value must be "
+					"in range(0, 256)");
+			return -1;
+		}
+		self->data[i] = v;
 		return 0;
 	}
 	else if (PySlice_Check(item)) {
 		Py_ssize_t start, stop, step, slicelen;
-		
+                Py_buffer vbuf;
+
 		if (PySlice_GetIndicesEx((PySliceObject *)item,
 					 self->size, &start, &stop,
 					 &step, &slicelen) < 0) {
@@ -807,41 +817,32 @@
 				"mmap object doesn't support slice deletion");
 			return -1;
 		}
-		if (!PyBytes_Check(value)) {
-			PyErr_SetString(PyExc_IndexError,
-				"mmap slice assignment must be bytes");
+                if (PyObject_GetBuffer(value, &vbuf, PyBUF_SIMPLE) < 0)
 			return -1;
-		}
-		if (PyBytes_Size(value) != slicelen) {
+		if (vbuf.len != slicelen) {
 			PyErr_SetString(PyExc_IndexError,
 				"mmap slice assignment is wrong size");
+			PyObject_ReleaseBuffer(value, &vbuf);
 			return -1;
 		}
-		if (!is_writable(self))
-			return -1;
 
-		if (slicelen == 0)
-			return 0;
+		if (slicelen == 0) {
+		}
 		else if (step == 1) {
-			const char *buf = PyBytes_AsString(value);
-
-			if (buf == NULL)
-				return -1;
-			memcpy(self->data + start, buf, slicelen);
-			return 0;
+			memcpy(self->data + start, vbuf.buf, slicelen);
 		}
 		else {
 			Py_ssize_t cur, i;
-			const char *buf = PyBytes_AsString(value);
-			
-			if (buf == NULL)
-				return -1;
-			for (cur = start, i = 0; i < slicelen;
-			     cur += step, i++) {
-				self->data[cur] = buf[i];
+
+			for (cur = start, i = 0;
+			     i < slicelen;
+			     cur += step, i++)
+			{
+				self->data[cur] = ((char *)vbuf.buf)[i];
 			}
-			return 0;
 		}
+		PyObject_ReleaseBuffer(value, &vbuf);
+		return 0;
 	}
 	else {
 		PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
@@ -908,9 +909,9 @@
 		return 0;
 	if (PyIndex_Check(o)) {
 		Py_ssize_t i = PyNumber_AsSsize_t(o, PyExc_OverflowError);
-		if (i==-1 && PyErr_Occurred()) 
+		if (i==-1 && PyErr_Occurred())
 			return -1;
-		if (i < 0) {	 
+		if (i < 0) {
 			PyErr_Format(PyExc_OverflowError,
 					"memory mapped %s must be positive",
                                         param);
@@ -1151,8 +1152,8 @@
 			    (dwErr = GetLastError()) != NO_ERROR) {
 				Py_DECREF(m_obj);
 				return PyErr_SetFromWindowsErr(dwErr);
-			}	
-				    
+			}
+
 #if SIZEOF_SIZE_T > 4
 			m_obj->size = (((size_t)high)<<32) + low;
 #else
diff --git a/Modules/posixmodule.c b/Modules/posixmodule.c
index acd01da..cb74f84 100644
--- a/Modules/posixmodule.c
+++ b/Modules/posixmodule.c
@@ -357,12 +357,12 @@
 		char *p = strchr(*e, '=');
 		if (p == NULL)
 			continue;
-		k = PyString_FromStringAndSize(*e, (int)(p-*e));
+		k = PyUnicode_FromStringAndSize(*e, (int)(p-*e));
 		if (k == NULL) {
 			PyErr_Clear();
 			continue;
 		}
-		v = PyString_FromString(p+1);
+		v = PyUnicode_FromString(p+1);
 		if (v == NULL) {
 			PyErr_Clear();
 			Py_DECREF(k);
diff --git a/Modules/pyexpat.c b/Modules/pyexpat.c
index ae6f143..658569e 100644
--- a/Modules/pyexpat.c
+++ b/Modules/pyexpat.c
@@ -858,6 +858,7 @@
     PyObject *bytes = NULL;
     PyObject *str = NULL;
     int len = -1;
+    char *ptr;
 
     if ((bytes = PyInt_FromLong(buf_size)) == NULL)
         goto finally;
@@ -877,14 +878,17 @@
     if (str == NULL)
         goto finally;
 
-    /* XXX what to do if it returns a Unicode string? */
-    if (!PyBytes_Check(str)) {
+    if (PyString_Check(str))
+        ptr = PyString_AS_STRING(str);
+    else if (PyBytes_Check(str))
+        ptr = PyBytes_AS_STRING(str);
+    else {
         PyErr_Format(PyExc_TypeError,
                      "read() did not return a bytes object (type=%.400s)",
                      Py_Type(str)->tp_name);
         goto finally;
     }
-    len = PyBytes_GET_SIZE(str);
+    len = Py_Size(str);
     if (len > buf_size) {
         PyErr_Format(PyExc_ValueError,
                      "read() returned too much data: "
@@ -892,7 +896,7 @@
                      buf_size, len);
         goto finally;
     }
-    memcpy(buf, PyBytes_AsString(str), len);
+    memcpy(buf, ptr, len);
 finally:
     Py_XDECREF(arg);
     Py_XDECREF(str);
@@ -998,7 +1002,7 @@
             = XML_GetInputContext(self->itself, &offset, &size);
 
         if (buffer != NULL)
-            return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize(buffer + offset,
+            return PyString_FromStringAndSize(buffer + offset,
                                               size - offset);
         else
             Py_RETURN_NONE;
diff --git a/Modules/sha1module.c b/Modules/sha1module.c
index d96fe35..6ba03ad 100644
--- a/Modules/sha1module.c
+++ b/Modules/sha1module.c
@@ -339,7 +339,7 @@
 
     temp = self->hash_state;
     sha1_done(&temp, digest);
-    return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize((const char *)digest, SHA1_DIGESTSIZE);
+    return PyString_FromStringAndSize((const char *)digest, SHA1_DIGESTSIZE);
 }
 
 PyDoc_STRVAR(SHA1_hexdigest__doc__,
diff --git a/Modules/sha256module.c b/Modules/sha256module.c
index da31d18..a5dc9ad 100644
--- a/Modules/sha256module.c
+++ b/Modules/sha256module.c
@@ -432,7 +432,7 @@
 
     SHAcopy(self, &temp);
     sha_final(digest, &temp);
-    return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize((const char *)digest, self->digestsize);
+    return PyString_FromStringAndSize((const char *)digest, self->digestsize);
 }
 
 PyDoc_STRVAR(SHA256_hexdigest__doc__,
diff --git a/Modules/sha512module.c b/Modules/sha512module.c
index 8b33bb0..c330e1b 100644
--- a/Modules/sha512module.c
+++ b/Modules/sha512module.c
@@ -498,7 +498,7 @@
 
     SHAcopy(self, &temp);
     sha512_final(digest, &temp);
-    return PyBytes_FromStringAndSize((const char *)digest, self->digestsize);
+    return PyString_FromStringAndSize((const char *)digest, self->digestsize);
 }
 
 PyDoc_STRVAR(SHA512_hexdigest__doc__,
diff --git a/Modules/socketmodule.c b/Modules/socketmodule.c
index 7fe562e..78aeb55 100644
--- a/Modules/socketmodule.c
+++ b/Modules/socketmodule.c
@@ -3659,8 +3659,8 @@
 		idna = PyObject_CallMethod(hobj, "encode", "s", "idna");
 		if (!idna)
 			return NULL;
-		assert(PyBytes_Check(idna));
-		hptr = PyBytes_AsString(idna);
+		assert(PyString_Check(idna));
+		hptr = PyString_AS_STRING(idna);
 	} else if (PyString_Check(hobj)) {
 		hptr = PyString_AsString(hobj);
 	} else {