#!/usr/bin/perl;
use HTML::Entities;
$to_decode = "TEST&TEST;A&E&an   HTML---   string - < © TVS>";
$encoded = encode_entities($to_decode);
print "Encoded data --> $encoded\n\n\n";


##</code><code>##

Encoded data --> TEST&amp;TEST;A&amp;E&amp;an &amp;nbsp; HTML--- &amp;nbsp; string - &amp;lt; &amp;copy; TVS&amp;gt;

##</code><code>##

TEST&amp;TEST;A&amp;E&amp;an &nbsp; HTML--- &nbsp; string - &lt; &copy; TVS&gt;