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To configure character sets for Oracle schema:

1. Start the Database Configuration Assistant.
2. Navigate to Step 10 of 12: Initialization Parameters and click the Character Sets tab, as shown in the following image.

   

3. In the Database Character Set section, click the Choose from the list of character sets option and select UTF8 - Unicode 3.0 Universal character set from the Database Character Set drop-down list.
4. From the National Character Set drop-down list, select UTF8 - Unicode 3.0 Universal character set.
5. Click Finish.

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To configure the NLS_LANG registry variable of the Oracle 11g server to support Unicode:

1. From the Windows Start menu, select Run, type regedit, and then click OK.

   

   The Registry Editor opens, as shown in the following image.

   

2. In the left pane, expand My Computer, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SOFTWARE, ORACLE, and KEY_OraDb11g_home1.
3. In the right pane, right-click NLS_LANG and select Modify from the context menu.

   The Edit String dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

   

4. Type AMERICAN_AMERICA.UTF8 in the Variable data field, and then click OK.
5. Close the Registry Editor.

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To configure the NLS_LANG registry variable of the Oracle 11g client to support Unicode:

1. From the Windows Start menu, select Run, type regedit, and then click OK.

   

   The Registry Editor opens, as shown in the following image.

   

2. In the left pane, expand My Computer, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SOFTWARE, ORACLE, and KEY_OraClient11g_home1.
3. In the right pane, right-click NLS_LANG and select Modify from the context menu.

   The Edit String dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

   

4. Type AMERICAN_AMERICA.UTF8 in the Variable data field, and then click OK.
5. Close the Registry Editor.

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To set the environment variable for NLS_LANG:

1. Right-click My Computer and select Properties from the context menu.

   The System Properties dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

   

2. Click the Advanced tab and then Environment Variables.

   The Environment Variables dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

   

3. In the User variables section, click New.

   The New User Variable dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

   

4. Type NLS_LANG in the Variable name field.
5. Type AMERICAN_AMERICA.UTF8 in the Variable value field.
6. Click OK.

   You are returned to the Environment Variables dialog box, where the new user variable (NLS_LANG) is now listed, as shown in the following image.

   

7. Click OK.

   You are returned to the System Properties dialog box.

   Note: Environment variable must be set to NLS_LANG to support Unicode (AMERICAN_AMERICA.UTF8), even after the system is restarted.