diff --git a/lib/net.js b/lib/net.js
index db41bd695a2..a4b2e4ad411 100644
--- a/lib/net.js
+++ b/lib/net.js
@@ -452,7 +452,10 @@ Stream.prototype._writeOut = function (data, encoding) {
 
     if (encoding == 'utf8' || encoding == 'utf-8') {
       bytesWritten = pool.utf8Write(data, pool.used);
-      charsWritten = bytesWritten; // XXX FIXME
+      // XXX Hacky way to find out the number of characters written.
+      // Waiting for a more optimal way: http://codereview.chromium.org/1539013
+      var _s = pool.utf8Slice(pool.used, pool.used + bytesWritten);
+      charsWritten = _s.length;
     } else if (encoding == 'ascii') {
       bytesWritten = pool.asciiWrite(data, pool.used);
       charsWritten = bytesWritten;