diff --git a/scriptators/uima.i b/scriptators/uima.i
index 1d78bb3..5cc2b23 100644
--- a/scriptators/uima.i
+++ b/scriptators/uima.i
@@ -67,13 +67,14 @@
 // convert using default codepage
 static bool PyStringConvert(PyObject *obj, UnicodeString &rv) {
   char *src;
-  int len;
   #ifdef PY_VERSION_HEX
   #if (PY_VERSION_HEX >= 0x02050000)
     /* Python version was greater than 2.5 */
+    Py_ssize_t len;
      PyString_AsStringAndSize(obj, &src,  ( Py_ssize_t*)&len);
   #else
     /* Python version was less than 2.5 */
+     int len;
      PyString_AsStringAndSize(obj, &src, &len);
   #endif
   #else