diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index 66b01d1c..fd48d5b2 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ pyqtgraph-0.9.9  [unreleased]
         - Gave .name() methods to PlotDataItem, PlotCurveItem, and ScatterPlotItem
     - fixed ImageItem handling of rgb images
     - fixed makeARGB re-ordering of color channels
+    - fixed unicode usage in AxisItem tick strings
 
 
 pyqtgraph-0.9.8  2013-11-24
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b5f83be2..47377410 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ Contributors
   * Felix Schill
   * Guillaume Poulin
   * Antony Lee
+  * Mattias Põldaru
 
 Requirements
 ------------
@@ -43,7 +44,8 @@ Installation Methods
 --------------------
 
   * To use with a specific project, simply copy the pyqtgraph subdirectory
-      anywhere that is importable from your project
+      anywhere that is importable from your project. PyQtGraph may also be
+      used as a git subtree by cloning the git-core repository from github.
   * To install system-wide from source distribution:
         `$ python setup.py install`
   * For instalation packages, see the website (pyqtgraph.org)
@@ -62,4 +64,4 @@ Some (incomplete) documentation exists at this time.
           `$ make html`
   
 Please feel free to pester Luke or post to the forum if you need a specific
-  section of documentation.
+  section of documentation to be expanded.
diff --git a/pyqtgraph/graphicsItems/AxisItem.py b/pyqtgraph/graphicsItems/AxisItem.py
index 1d0b36b6..425fdd93 100644
--- a/pyqtgraph/graphicsItems/AxisItem.py
+++ b/pyqtgraph/graphicsItems/AxisItem.py
@@ -795,7 +795,7 @@ class AxisItem(GraphicsWidget):
                 if s is None:
                     rects.append(None)
                 else:
-                    br = p.boundingRect(QtCore.QRectF(0, 0, 100, 100), QtCore.Qt.AlignCenter, str(s))
+                    br = p.boundingRect(QtCore.QRectF(0, 0, 100, 100), QtCore.Qt.AlignCenter, asUnicode(s))
                     ## boundingRect is usually just a bit too large
                     ## (but this probably depends on per-font metrics?)
                     br.setHeight(br.height() * 0.8)
@@ -830,7 +830,7 @@ class AxisItem(GraphicsWidget):
                 vstr = strings[j]
                 if vstr is None: ## this tick was ignored because it is out of bounds
                     continue
-                vstr = str(vstr)
+                vstr = asUnicode(vstr)
                 x = tickPositions[i][j]
                 #textRect = p.boundingRect(QtCore.QRectF(0, 0, 100, 100), QtCore.Qt.AlignCenter, vstr)
                 textRect = rects[j]