diff --git a/Lib/test/test_string.py b/Lib/test/test_string.py
index 6361f786f7d..e0f799028a1 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_string.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_string.py
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ def __repr__(self):
 
 # Float formatting
 for prec in range(100):
-    formatstring = u'%%.%if' % prec
+    formatstring = '%%.%if' % prec
     value = 0.01
     for x in range(60):
         value = value * 3.141592655 / 3.0 * 10.0