diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index ba1b519..4f64eed 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -556,6 +556,9 @@ else: # INTERACTIVE_MODE
else:
nickname = open(file_path, 'r').read(4096)
+ if sys.version_info[0] > 2:
+ nickname = nickname.decode('utf-8')
+
try:
desc = nickname_pat.search(nickname).group(1)
except AttributeError: