diff --git a/ser/XmlFormatter2.cs b/ser/XmlFormatter2.cs
index 59f1b78..4633c30 100644
--- a/ser/XmlFormatter2.cs
+++ b/ser/XmlFormatter2.cs
@@ -217,9 +217,18 @@ namespace lib
 
 		private object DeserializeConcrete( XmlElement elem, Type type )
 		{
-			string val = elem.GetAttribute("v");
+			string val = "";
 
-			if( !type.IsEnum )
+			if( elem.HasAttribute("v") )
+			{
+				val = elem.GetAttribute("v");
+			}
+			else
+			{
+				val = elem.InnerText;
+			}
+
+			if ( !type.IsEnum )
 			{
 				try
 				{