diff --git a/src/tools/qstring.cpp b/src/tools/qstring.cpp
index 483efb9..795953a 100644
--- a/src/tools/qstring.cpp
+++ b/src/tools/qstring.cpp
@@ -5725,7 +5725,7 @@ const char* QString::ascii() const
 QCString QString::utf8() const
 {
     if (!d->cString) {
-        d->cString = new QCString;
+        d->cString = new QCString("");
     }
     if(d == shared_null)
     {
@@ -5974,7 +5974,7 @@ QString QString::fromLatin1( const char* chars, int len )
 QCString QString::local8Bit() const
 {
     if (!d->cString) {
-        d->cString = new QCString;
+        d->cString = new QCString("");
     }
     if(d == shared_null)
     {