Node import from xml file with BOM

I use Node export module with Views Bulk Operations with XML format. When I download the created code, the file begins with the 3 bytes of BOM (Byte Order Mark).

The problem is, that when I upload the file on an other site, the node_export_xml_import function checks the first 5 chars:

/**
 * Import callback.
 */
function node_export_xml_import($code_string) {
  // Check for "<?xml" at the start.
  if (substr(ltrim($code_string), 0, 5) == "<?xml") {

    // Decode the XML.
    $xml_class = new NodeExportXmlDecoder();
    $result = $xml_class->decode($code_string);

    // Convert the nodes into objects.
    if (!isset($result['success'])) {
      foreach($result as $k => $v) {
        $result[$k] = (object)$v;
      }
    }

    return $result;
  }
}

But as the first 3 chars are BOM, I always get this error message:

'Node export was unable to recognize the format of the supplied code. No nodes imported.'

Any ideas?
Thanks in advance!