diff --git a/DataSourceVMwareGuestInfo.py b/DataSourceVMwareGuestInfo.py
index 896c19b..b7cf780 100644
--- a/DataSourceVMwareGuestInfo.py
+++ b/DataSourceVMwareGuestInfo.py
@@ -575,7 +575,10 @@
     """
     addr = None
     try:
-        addr = ipaddress.ip_address(val.encode("utf-8"))
+        try:
+            addr = ipaddress.ip_address(val)
+        except ipaddress.AddressValueError:
+            addr = ipaddress.ip_address(val.encode('utf-8'))
     except:
         return False
     if addr.is_link_local or addr.is_loopback or addr.is_unspecified: