diff --git a/wp-includes/vars.php b/wp-includes/vars.php
index a19346b94b..61b5587b6a 100644
--- a/wp-includes/vars.php
+++ b/wp-includes/vars.php
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ foreach($wpsmiliestrans as $smiley => $img) {
for ($i = 0; $i < strlen($smiley); $i = $i + 1) {
$smiley_masked .= substr($smiley, $i, 1).chr(160);
}
- $wp_smiliesreplace[] = " ";
+ $wp_smiliesreplace[] = "";
}