diff --git a/data_objects/lib/data_objects/uri.rb b/data_objects/lib/data_objects/uri.rb
index 09d9a6fd..ff4f8f44 100644
--- a/data_objects/lib/data_objects/uri.rb
+++ b/data_objects/lib/data_objects/uri.rb
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ def relative?
 
     # Display this URI object as a string
     def to_s
-      string = ""
+      string = String.new
       string << "#{scheme}:"     if scheme
       string << "#{subscheme}:"  if subscheme
       string << '//'             if relative?