diff --git a/src/tools/qstring.cpp b/src/tools/qstring.cpp
index c182447..413ada8 100644
--- a/src/tools/qstring.cpp
+++ b/src/tools/qstring.cpp
@@ -5992,7 +5992,7 @@ void QString::setSecurityUnPaged(bool lock) {
 QCString QString::utf8() const
 {
     if (!d->cString) {
-        d->cString = new QCString;
+        d->cString = new QCString("");
     }
     if(d == shared_null)
     {
@@ -6246,7 +6246,7 @@ 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)
     {