diff --git a/ox/format.py b/ox/format.py
index 9090cf0..83756c1 100644
--- a/ox/format.py
+++ b/ox/format.py
@@ -224,16 +224,16 @@ def to36(q):
 def from36(q):
     return int(q, 36)
 
-def int_value(strValue, default=u''):
+def int_value(strValue, default=''):
     """
     >>> int_value('abc23')
-    u'23'
+    '23'
 
     >>> int_value(' abc23')
-    u'23'
+    '23'
 
     >>> int_value('ab')
-    u''
+    ''
     """
     try:
         val = re.compile('(\d+)').findall(str(strValue).strip())[0]
@@ -241,16 +241,16 @@ def int_value(strValue, default=u''):
         val = default
     return val
 
-def float_value(strValue, default=u''):
+def float_value(strValue, default=''):
     """
     >>> float_value('abc23.4')
-    u'23.4'
+    '23.4'
 
     >>> float_value(' abc23.4')
-    u'23.4'
+    '23.4'
 
     >>> float_value('ab')
-    u''
+    ''
     """
     try:
         val = re.compile('([\d.]+)').findall(str(strValue).strip())[0]
diff --git a/ox/html.py b/ox/html.py
index 5286116..8666713 100644
--- a/ox/html.py
+++ b/ox/html.py
@@ -145,11 +145,11 @@ charrefpat = re.compile(r'&(#(\d+|x[\da-fA-F]+)|[\w.:-]+);?')
 def decode_html(html):
     """
     >>> decode_html('me & you and $&%')
-    u'me & you and $&%'
+    'me & you and $&%'
     >>> decode_html('€')
-    u'\u20ac'
+    '\u20ac'
     >>> decode_html('Anniversary of Daoud's Republic')
-    u"Anniversary of Daoud's Republic"
+    "Anniversary of Daoud's Republic"
     """
     if isinstance(html, bytes):
         html = html.decode('utf-8')
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ def decode_html(html):
     def entitydecode(match, uchr=uchr):
         entity = match.group(1)
         if entity == '#x80':
-            return u'€'
+            return '€'
         elif entity.startswith('#x'):
             return uchr(int(entity[2:], 16))
         elif entity.startswith('#'):
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ def decode_html(html):
             return "'"
         else:
             return match.group(0)
-    return charrefpat.sub(entitydecode, html).replace(u'\xa0', ' ')
+    return charrefpat.sub(entitydecode, html).replace('\xa0', ' ')
 
 def highlight(text, query, hlClass="hl"):
     """
@@ -187,51 +187,51 @@ def highlight(text, query, hlClass="hl"):
 
 def escape_html(value):
     '''
-    >>> escape_html(u'<script> foo')
-    u'&lt;script&gt; foo'
-    >>> escape_html(u'&lt;script&gt; foo')
-    u'&lt;script&gt; foo'
+    >>> escape_html('<script> foo')
+    '&lt;script&gt; foo'
+    >>> escape_html('&lt;script&gt; foo')
+    '&lt;script&gt; foo'
     '''
     return escape(decode_html(value))
 
 def sanitize_html(html, tags=None, global_attributes=[]):
     '''
     >>> sanitize_html('http://foo.com, bar')
-    u'<a href="http://foo.com">http://foo.com</a>, bar'
+    '<a href="http://foo.com">http://foo.com</a>, bar'
     >>> sanitize_html('http://foo.com/foobar?foo, bar')
-    u'<a href="http://foo.com/foobar?foo">http://foo.com/foobar?foo</a>, bar'
+    '<a href="http://foo.com/foobar?foo">http://foo.com/foobar?foo</a>, bar'
     >>> sanitize_html('(see: www.foo.com)')
-    u'(see: <a href="http://www.foo.com">www.foo.com</a>)'
+    '(see: <a href="http://www.foo.com">www.foo.com</a>)'
     >>> sanitize_html('foo@bar.com')
-    u'<a href="mailto:foo@bar.com">foo@bar.com</a>'
+    '<a href="mailto:foo@bar.com">foo@bar.com</a>'
     >>> sanitize_html(sanitize_html('foo@bar.com'))
-    u'<a href="mailto:foo@bar.com">foo@bar.com</a>'
+    '<a href="mailto:foo@bar.com">foo@bar.com</a>'
     >>> sanitize_html('<a href="http://foo.com" onmouseover="alert()">foo</a>')
-    u'<a href="http://foo.com">foo</a>'
+    '<a href="http://foo.com">foo</a>'
     >>> sanitize_html('<a href="javascript:alert()">foo</a>')
-    u'&lt;a href="javascript:alert()"&gt;foo&lt;/a&gt;'
+    '&lt;a href="javascript:alert()"&gt;foo&lt;/a&gt;'
     >>> sanitize_html('[http://foo.com foo]')
-    u'<a href="http://foo.com">foo</a>'
+    '<a href="http://foo.com">foo</a>'
     >>> sanitize_html('<div style="direction: rtl">foo</div>')
-    u'<div style="direction: rtl">foo</div>'
+    '<div style="direction: rtl">foo</div>'
     >>> sanitize_html('<script>alert()</script>')
-    u'&lt;script&gt;alert()&lt;/script&gt;'
+    '&lt;script&gt;alert()&lt;/script&gt;'
     >>> sanitize_html("'foo' < 'bar' && \\"foo\\" > \\"bar\\"")
-    u'\\'foo\\' &lt; \\'bar\\' &amp;&amp; "foo" &gt; "bar"'
+    '\\'foo\\' &lt; \\'bar\\' &amp;&amp; "foo" &gt; "bar"'
     >>> sanitize_html('<b>foo')
-    u'<b>foo</b>'
+    '<b>foo</b>'
     >>> sanitize_html('<b>foo</b></b>')
-    u'<b>foo</b>'
+    '<b>foo</b>'
     >>> sanitize_html('Anniversary of Daoud&apos;s Republic')
-    u"Anniversary of Daoud's Republic"
+    "Anniversary of Daoud's Republic"
     >>> sanitize_html('')
-    u''
+    ''
     >>> sanitize_html(' ')
-    u' '
-    >>> sanitize_html(u'&nbsp;')  # canonicalised to a space: okay, I suppose
-    u' '
-    >>> sanitize_html(u'\u00a0')  # also nbsp
-    u' '
+    ' '
+    >>> sanitize_html('&nbsp;')  # canonicalised to a space: okay, I suppose
+    ' '
+    >>> sanitize_html('\u00a0')  # also nbsp
+    ' '
     '''
     if not tags:
         valid_url = '^((https?:\/\/|\/|mailto:).*?)'
@@ -412,24 +412,24 @@ def sanitize_fragment(html):
     are quoted, etc. Does not strip potentially-malicious HTML: use
     sanitize_html() for that.
 
-    >>> sanitize_fragment(u'<span lang="en">')
-    u'<span lang="en"></span>'
-    >>> sanitize_fragment(u'<span lang=en></span>')
-    u'<span lang="en"></span>'
-    >>> sanitize_fragment(u'<br><br/></br>')
-    u'<br><br>'
-    >>> sanitize_fragment(u'<a href="javascript:alert()">foo</a>')
-    u'<a href="javascript:alert()">foo</a>'
-    >>> sanitize_fragment(u'')
-    u''
-    >>> sanitize_fragment(u' ')
-    u' '
-    >>> sanitize_fragment(u'&nbsp;')
-    u'\\xa0'
-    >>> sanitize_fragment(u'\\u00a0')  # nbsp
-    u'\\xa0'
-    >>> sanitize_fragment(u'\\ufeff')  # zero-width no-break space
-    u'\\ufeff'
+    >>> sanitize_fragment('<span lang="en">')
+    '<span lang="en"></span>'
+    >>> sanitize_fragment('<span lang=en></span>')
+    '<span lang="en"></span>'
+    >>> sanitize_fragment('<br><br/></br>')
+    '<br><br>'
+    >>> sanitize_fragment('<a href="javascript:alert()">foo</a>')
+    '<a href="javascript:alert()">foo</a>'
+    >>> sanitize_fragment('')
+    ''
+    >>> sanitize_fragment(' ')
+    ' '
+    >>> sanitize_fragment('&nbsp;')
+    '\\xa0'
+    >>> sanitize_fragment('\\u00a0')  # nbsp
+    '\\xa0'
+    >>> sanitize_fragment('\\ufeff')  # zero-width no-break space
+    '\\ufeff'
     '''
 
     '''
diff --git a/ox/text.py b/ox/text.py
index a967092..d650262 100644
--- a/ox/text.py
+++ b/ox/text.py
@@ -475,10 +475,10 @@ def wrap(text, width):
 
 def wrap_string(string, length=80, separator='\n', balance=False):
     '''
-    >>> wrap_string(u"Anticonstitutionellement, Paris s'eveille", 16)
-    u"Anticonstitution\\nellement, Paris \\ns'eveille"
+    >>> wrap_string("Anticonstitutionellement, Paris s'eveille", 16)
+    "Anticonstitution\\nellement, Paris \\ns'eveille"
     >>> wrap_string(u'All you can eat', 12, '\\n', True)
-    u'All you \\ncan eat'
+    'All you \\ncan eat'
     '''
     words = string.split(' ')
     if balance:
@@ -493,20 +493,20 @@ def wrap_string(string, length=80, separator='\n', balance=False):
                     break
     lines = ['']
     for word in words:
-        if len(lines[len(lines) - 1] + word + u' ') <= length + 1:
+        if len(lines[len(lines) - 1] + word + ' ') <= length + 1:
             # word fits in current line
-            lines[len(lines) - 1] += word + u' '
+            lines[len(lines) - 1] += word + ' '
         else:
             if len(word) <= length:
                 # word fits in next line
-                lines.append(word + u' ')
+                lines.append(word + ' ')
             else:
                 # word is longer than line
                 position = length - len(lines[len(lines) - 1])
                 lines[len(lines) - 1] += word[0:position]
                 for i in range(position, len(word), length):
                     lines.append(word[i:i+length])
-                lines[len(lines) - 1] += u' '
+                lines[len(lines) - 1] += ' '
     return separator.join(lines).strip()
 
 def truncate_string(string, length, padding='...', position='right'):
@@ -578,14 +578,14 @@ def get_valid_filename(s):
 
 def get_text_list(list_, last_word='or'):
     """
-    >>> get_text_list([u'a', u'b', u'c', u'd'])
-    u'a, b, c or d'
-    >>> get_text_list([u'a', u'b', u'c'], 'and')
-    u'a, b and c'
-    >>> get_text_list([u'a', u'b'], 'and')
-    u'a and b'
-    >>> get_text_list([u'a'])
-    u'a'
+    >>> get_text_list(['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'])
+    'a, b, c or d'
+    >>> get_text_list(['a', 'b', 'c'], 'and')
+    'a, b and c'
+    >>> get_text_list(['a', 'b'], 'and')
+    'a and b'
+    >>> get_text_list(['a'])
+    'a'
     >>> get_text_list([])
     ''
     """
@@ -593,24 +593,24 @@ def get_text_list(list_, last_word='or'):
         return ''
     if len(list_) == 1:
         return list_[0]
-    return u'%s %s %s' % (u', '.join([i for i in list_][:-1]), last_word, list_[-1])
+    return '%s %s %s' % (', '.join([i for i in list_][:-1]), last_word, list_[-1])
 
 def get_list_text(text, last_word='or'):
     """
-    >>> get_list_text(u'a, b, c or d')
-    [u'a', u'b', u'c', u'd']
-    >>> get_list_text(u'a, b and c', u'and')
-    [u'a', u'b', u'c']
-    >>> get_list_text(u'a and b', u'and')
-    [u'a', u'b']
-    >>> get_list_text(u'a')
-    [u'a']
-    >>> get_list_text(u'')
+    >>> get_list_text('a, b, c or d')
+    ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']
+    >>> get_list_text('a, b and c', 'and')
+    ['a', 'b', 'c']
+    >>> get_list_text('a and b', 'and')
+    ['a', 'b']
+    >>> get_list_text('a')
+    ['a']
+    >>> get_list_text('')
     []
     """
     list_ = []
     if text:
-        list_ = text.split(u', ')
+        list_ = text.split(', ')
         if list_:
             i = len(list_)-1
             last = list_[i].split(last_word)
@@ -682,7 +682,7 @@ def words(text):
     return [re.sub("(([.!?:-_]|'s)$)", '', x) for x in text]
 
 def sort_string(string):
-    string = string.replace(u'Æ', 'AE').replace(u'Ø', 'O').replace(u'Þ', 'Th')
+    string = string.replace('Æ', 'AE').replace('Ø', 'O').replace('Þ', 'Th')
 
     # pad numbered titles
     string = re.sub('(\d),(\d{3})', '\\1\\2', string)
diff --git a/ox/web/allmovie.py b/ox/web/allmovie.py
index fdb7a46..c94c438 100644
--- a/ox/web/allmovie.py
+++ b/ox/web/allmovie.py
@@ -13,13 +13,13 @@ def get_id(url):
 def get_data(id):
     '''
     >>> get_data('129689')['cast'][1][1]
-    u'Marianne'
+    'Marianne'
     >>> get_data('129689')['credits'][0][0]
-    u'Jean-Luc Godard'
+    'Jean-Luc Godard'
     >>> get_data('129689')['posters'][0]
-    u'http://image.allmusic.com/00/adg/cov200/dru800/u812/u81260bbffr.jpg'
+    'http://image.allmusic.com/00/adg/cov200/dru800/u812/u81260bbffr.jpg'
     >>> get_data('129689')['rating']
-    u'4.5'
+    '4.5'
     '''
     if id.startswith('http'):
         id = get_id(id)
diff --git a/ox/web/arsenalberlin.py b/ox/web/arsenalberlin.py
index e5a0dd2..ca77b5e 100644
--- a/ox/web/arsenalberlin.py
+++ b/ox/web/arsenalberlin.py
@@ -19,18 +19,18 @@ def get_data(id, language='en'):
     if 'Willkommen in der Datenbank des Arsenal' in html:
         return None
     data = {}
-    data[u'id'] = id
-    data[u'url'] = url
+    data['id'] = id
+    data['url'] = url
     m = re.compile('<h1>(.*?)</h1>').findall(html)
     if m:
-        data[u'title'] = m[0]
+        data['title'] = m[0]
     m = re.compile("<b>Director: </b><a href='.*?'>(.*?)</a>").findall(html)
     if m:
-        data[u'director'] = m[0]
+        data['director'] = m[0]
 
     m = re.compile("caUI.initImageScroller\(\[\{url:'(.*?)'").findall(html)
     if m:
-        data[u'image'] = m[0]
+        data['image'] = m[0]
 
     units = re.compile("<div class='unit'>(.*?)</div>", re.DOTALL).findall(html)
     for x in map(re.compile('<b>(.*?)</b>: (.*)', re.DOTALL).findall, units):
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ def get_data(id, language='en'):
             else:
                 data[key] = strip_tags(data[key])
     if "running time (minutes)" in data:
-        data[u'runtime'] = float(data.pop("running time (minutes)").replace(',', '.')) * 60
+        data['runtime'] = float(data.pop("running time (minutes)").replace(',', '.')) * 60
     for key in ('year', 'length in metres', 'forum participation year', 'number of reels'):
         if key in data and data[key].isdigit():
             data[key] = int(data[key])
diff --git a/ox/web/criterion.py b/ox/web/criterion.py
index d7914be..67d4a8a 100644
--- a/ox/web/criterion.py
+++ b/ox/web/criterion.py
@@ -19,13 +19,13 @@ def get_url(id):
 def get_data(id, timeout=ox.cache.cache_timeout, get_imdb=False):
     '''
     >>> get_data('1333').get('imdbId')
-    u'0060304'
+    '0060304'
 
     >>> get_data('236')['posters'][0]
-    u'http://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/release_images/1586/ThirdManReplace.jpg'
+    'http://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/release_images/1586/ThirdManReplace.jpg'
 
     >>> get_data('786')['posters'][0]
-    u'http://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/product_images/185/343_box_348x490.jpg'
+    'http://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/product_images/185/343_box_348x490.jpg'
     '''
     data = {
         "id": id,
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ def get_data(id, timeout=ox.cache.cache_timeout, get_imdb=False):
     data["number"] = find_re(html, "<b>Spine #(\d+)")
 
     data["title"] = decode_html(find_re(html, "<h1 class=\"header__primarytitle\".*?>(.*?)</h1>"))
-    data["title"] = data["title"].split(u' \u2014 The Television Version')[0].strip()
+    data["title"] = data["title"].split(' \u2014 The Television Version')[0].strip()
     results = find_re(html, '<ul class="film-meta-list">(.*?)</ul>')
     info = re.compile('<li itemprop="(.*?)".*?>(.*?)</li>', re.DOTALL).findall(results)
     info = {k: strip_tags(v).strip() for k, v in info}
diff --git a/ox/web/flixter.py b/ox/web/flixter.py
index e6d6a0a..d713208 100644
--- a/ox/web/flixter.py
+++ b/ox/web/flixter.py
@@ -58,10 +58,10 @@ def get_data(id, timeout=-1):
 def get_id(url=None, imdb=None):
     '''
     >>> get_id(imdb='0133093')
-    u'the-matrix'
+    'the-matrix'
 
     #>>> get_id(imdb='0060304')
-    #u'2-or-3-things-i-know-about-her'
+    #'2-or-3-things-i-know-about-her'
     '''
     if imdb:
         i = ImdbCombined(imdb)