diff --git a/bindings/python/mapnik_datasource.cpp b/bindings/python/mapnik_datasource.cpp
index 07383b372..85e2ff721 100644
--- a/bindings/python/mapnik_datasource.cpp
+++ b/bindings/python/mapnik_datasource.cpp
@@ -61,7 +61,11 @@ boost::shared_ptr<mapnik::datasource> create_datasource(dict const& d)
             PyObject* temp = PyUnicode_AsUTF8String(obj.ptr());
             if (temp)
             {
+#if PY_VERSION_HEX >= 0x03000000
+                char* c_str = PyBytes_AsString(temp);
+#else
                 char* c_str = PyString_AsString(temp);
+#endif
                 params[key] = std::string(c_str);
                 Py_DecRef(temp);
             }