diff --git a/include/bit7z/bitpropvariant.hpp b/include/bit7z/bitpropvariant.hpp
index d0e3ce55..edd546ea 100644
--- a/include/bit7z/bitpropvariant.hpp
+++ b/include/bit7z/bitpropvariant.hpp
@@ -311,6 +311,12 @@ struct BitPropVariant final : public PROPVARIANT {
          */
         BIT7Z_NODISCARD auto getNativeString() const -> native_string;
 
+        /**
+         * @return the raw string value of this variant
+         * (it throws an exception if the variant is not a string).
+         */
+        BIT7Z_NODISCARD auto getRawString() const -> sevenzip_string;
+
         /**
          * @return the 8-bit unsigned integer value of this variant
          * (it throws an exception if the variant is not an 8-bit unsigned integer).
diff --git a/include/bit7z/bittypes.hpp b/include/bit7z/bittypes.hpp
index 33fb67b7..102123b9 100644
--- a/include/bit7z/bittypes.hpp
+++ b/include/bit7z/bittypes.hpp
@@ -62,6 +62,12 @@ struct StringTraits< wchar_t > {
 };
 /** @endcond */
 
+/**
+ * The string type used internally by 7-Zip.
+ * @Note 7-Zip always uses wide strings on all platforms.
+ */
+using sevenzip_string = std::wstring;
+
 /**
  * Native string type of the system.
  * @note On Windows, it is an alias of `std::wstring`.
diff --git a/src/bitpropvariant.cpp b/src/bitpropvariant.cpp
index b08a05f7..cf3bb8b8 100644
--- a/src/bitpropvariant.cpp
+++ b/src/bitpropvariant.cpp
@@ -251,25 +251,32 @@ auto BitPropVariant::getBool() const -> bool {
 }
 
 auto BitPropVariant::getString() const -> tstring {
+#if defined( BIT7Z_USE_NATIVE_STRING ) && defined( _WIN32 )
+    return getRawString();
+#else
     if ( vt != VT_BSTR ) {
         throw BitException( "BitPropVariant is not a string", make_error_code( BitError::RequestedWrongVariantType ) );
     }
     // Note: a nullptr BSTR is semantically equivalent to an empty string.
-    return bstrVal == nullptr ? tstring{} : BSTR_TO_TSTRING( bstrVal );
+    return bstrVal == nullptr ? tstring{} : bit7z::narrow( bstrVal, SysStringLen( bstrVal ) );
+#endif
 }
 
 auto BitPropVariant::getNativeString() const -> native_string {
 #ifdef _WIN32
-    if ( vt != VT_BSTR ) {
-        throw BitException( "BitPropVariant is not a string", make_error_code( BitError::RequestedWrongVariantType ) );
-    }
-    // Note: a nullptr BSTR is semantically equivalent to an empty string.
-    return bstrVal == nullptr ? native_string{} : native_string{ bstrVal, ::SysStringLen( bstrVal ) };
+    return getRawString();
 #else
     return getString();
 #endif
 }
 
+auto BitPropVariant::getRawString() const -> sevenzip_string {
+    if ( vt != VT_BSTR ) {
+        throw BitException( "BitPropVariant is not a string", make_error_code( BitError::RequestedWrongVariantType ) );
+    }
+    return bstrVal == nullptr ? sevenzip_string{} : sevenzip_string{ bstrVal, ::SysStringLen( bstrVal ) };
+}
+
 auto BitPropVariant::getUInt8() const -> uint8_t {
     switch ( vt ) {
         case VT_UI1: