C++ convert string to every type using template function

gistfile1.cpp

template <typename T>
T ConvertString( const std::string &data )
{
  if( !data.empty( ))
  {
    T ret;
    std::istringstream iss( data );
    if( data.find( "0x" ) != std::string::npos )
    {
      iss >> std::hex >> ret;
    }
    else
    {
      iss >> std::dec >> ret;
    }

    if( iss.fail( ))
    {
      std::cout << "Convert error: cannot convert string '" << data << "' to value" << std::endl;
      return T( );
    }
    return ret;
  }
  return T( );
}

Doesn't work for char or aliases like uint8_t, instead of decimal conversion reads and returns one character.