diff --git a/plexus-java-build.xml b/plexus-java-build.xml
index f3acbaa..d19e890 100644
--- a/plexus-java-build.xml
+++ b/plexus-java-build.xml
@@ -120,6 +120,7 @@
     <javac destdir="${build.testOutputDir}"
            nowarn="false"
            debug="true"
+           encoding="utf-8"
            optimize="false"
            deprecation="true"
            target="${compiler.target}"