Thanks guys, I'm using MS SQL Server 2000 Enterprise but I'm not connecting with the DBI - but with the MS DMO Library.
I'll try a few of those suggestions, I guess the question is kind of acedemic because I can script the procedures to ANSI - but as they were already stored in source-safe as unicode - i thought that a perl solution that handled unicode would be better (save the hassle of organising for all procedures to be checked in, etc)
On the version of unicode being used: I do not know - books on-line just say International(Unicode) "Select this option if the script uses special international characters that are supported only in the Unicode font."
Here's the PERL code

sub insert_the_string {
    
    my $old_file = shift;
    my $new_file = $old_file . "sql2";
    my $line = '';

    open(OLD, "< $old_file");
    open(NEW, "> $new_file");

    my $text .= concatenate_string_to_insert(); # documentation header
    $text .= "as\n";
    my $as_RE = "AS";  # replace the first occurance of 'AS' after the
+ stored procedure definition
    

    select(NEW); # new default for print
    
    while (defined($line = <OLD>) ){
#        chomp $line;
        if ($line =~ s/$as_RE/$text/) {
            chomp $line;
            $line .= <OLD>;
            redo unless eof(OLD);
        }
        
        print NEW $line;
    }
    close(OLD);
    close(NEW);
    
    rename($old_file, "$old_file.orig");
    rename($new_file, $old_file);

}
[download]

When I say garbage I mean something like the following...

/****** Object:  Stored Procedure dbo.a_sp_D_Add    Script Date: 02/04
+/2002 17:00:18 ******/
਍⼀⨀⨀⨀⨀⨀⨀ 
+ऀഀഀ
    Marina Motchkina 
਍         
+ ऀ　㐀⼀　㌀⼀&#12288
+;㈀ഀഀ

਍ऀ匀儀䰀 昀漀爀&
+#8192;䐀砀砀砀 挀漀洀
+瀀漀渀攀渀琀猀ഀ&#3328
+;
 ******/
਍ഀഀ
CREATE PROCEDURE a_sp_D_Add
਍ऀ䀀吀愀戀氀攀一
+愀洀攀 瘀愀爀挀&#2662
+4;愀爀⠀㌀　⤀ഀഀ

਍ഀഀ
as
਍ऀ搀攀挀氀愀爀攀
+ 䀀猀琀爀匀儀䰀&#8192
+;瘀愀爀挀栀愀爀⠀&#13
+312;　　　⤀ഀഀ
    select @strSQL='SELECT ' + @TableName+'.* '+ ' FROM ' + @TableName
+ +'  WITH (NOLOCK)  WHERE '+ @TableName+'.'+@TableName+'Counter =0'
਍ഀഀ

਍ഀഀ

਍ഀഀ
GO
਍匀䔀吀 儀唀伀吀
+䔀䐀开䤀䐀䔀一吀&#186
+88;䘀䤀䔀刀 伀䘀䘀&#8
+192;ഀഀ
GO
਍匀䔀吀 䄀一匀䤀
+开一唀䰀䰀匀 伀&#1996
+8; ഀഀ
GO
਍ഀഀ
[download]

graff - you're right about posting unicode to the site - it looked nicer than this - but still garbage.
Thanks anyway - I'm off to find out about 'ucs2' & 'utf16' & install the Unicode::String module.

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