Python + MySQLdb + Unicode

database.py

#!/usr/bin/python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-

import MySQLdb as mysql

def QueryDatabase(query, values):
    """Function to query a MySQL database and return the results of the
       query."""

    # Initialize variables and return values.
    conn = None
    rows = []

    try:
        # Create a connection to the database.
        conn = mysql.connect(host='127.0.0.1',
                             user='user',
                             passwd='passwd',
                             db='db',
                             charset='utf8',
                             use_unicode=True)

        cursor = conn.cusor()

        # Execute the SQL query.
        cursor.execute(query, values)

        # Fetch all the rows from the query.
        rows = cursor.fetchall()

        # Clean up.
        cursor.close()
        conn.commit()
        conn.close()

    except:
        # Attempt to close the connection if one still exists.
        if conn:
            conn.close()

    return rows

def Main():
    print "Unicode Test!"

    # Example INSERT query on a fictional database.
    QueryDatabase('INSERT INTO mytable VALUES (null, %s)',
                  ('Some string that contains unicode: ' + unichr(300),))


if __name__ == "__main__":
    Main()