diff --git a/src/im_mad/remotes/kvm-probes.d/kvm.rb b/src/im_mad/remotes/kvm-probes.d/kvm.rb
index 77b4dbac54..32db20488f 100755
--- a/src/im_mad/remotes/kvm-probes.d/kvm.rb
+++ b/src/im_mad/remotes/kvm-probes.d/kvm.rb
@@ -26,7 +26,9 @@ end
 #  TODO : use virsh freecell when available
 ######
 
-nodeinfo_text = `LANG=C virsh -c qemu:///system nodeinfo`
+ENV['LANG'] = 'C'
+
+nodeinfo_text = `virsh -c qemu:///system nodeinfo`
 exit(-1) if $?.exitstatus != 0
 
 nodeinfo_text.split(/\n/).each{|line|