Question on Strings

[Kalyankumar Ramaseshan]

Hi,

Excuse me if this is a repeat question!

I just wanted to know how are strings represented in python?

I need to know in terms of:

a) Strings are stored as UTF-16 (LE/BE) or UTF-32 characters?
b) They are converted to utf-8 format when it is needed for e.g. when storing the string to disk or sending it through a socket (tcp/ip)? 

Any help in this regard is appreciated.

Thank you.

Regards
Kalyan