What encoding are the elements of sys.argv in, in Python? are they encoded with the sys.getdefaultencoding() encoding?

sys.getdefaultencoding(): Return the name of the current default string encoding used by the Unicode implementation.

PS: As pointed out in some of the answers, sys.stdin.encoding would indeed be a better guess. I would love to see a definitive answer to this question, though, with pointers to solid sources!

PPS: As Wim pointed out, Python 3 solves this issue by putting str objects in sys.argv (if I understand correctly). The question remains open for Python 2.x, though. Under Unix, the LC_CTYPE environment variable seems to be the correct thing to check, no? What should be done with Windows (so that sys.argv elements are correctly interpreted whatever the console)?