code: def to_utf8(obj):
      
      if isinstance(obj, unicode_type):
          return _utf8(obj)
      elif isinstance(obj, dict):
          return dict((to_utf8(k), to_utf8(v)) for (k, v) in obj.items())
      elif isinstance(obj, list):
          return list(to_utf8(i) for i in obj)
      elif isinstance(obj, tuple):
          return tuple(to_utf8(i) for i in obj)
  
      return obj
docs: Walks a simple data structure, converting unicode to byte string.
  
      Supports lists, tuples, and dictionaries.