diff --git a/gvapgsql/pgsqltasks/tasks.py b/gvapgsql/pgsqltasks/tasks.py
index 1683ff5..7e70157 100644
--- a/gvapgsql/pgsqltasks/tasks.py
+++ b/gvapgsql/pgsqltasks/tasks.py
@@ -140,6 +140,7 @@ def create_pgsql_database(dbname, username):
         curs.execute(
             """
             CREATE DATABASE %(dbname)s OWNER %(username)s
+            TEMPLATE template0 ENCODING UTF8
             """,
             {'dbname': Ident(dbname), 'username': Ident(username)}
         )