diff --git a/tests/test-contrib.t b/tests/test-contrib.t
--- a/tests/test-contrib.t
+++ b/tests/test-contrib.t
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@
 
 binary file
 
-  $ $PYTHON -c "f = file('binary-local', 'w'); f.write('\x00'); f.close()"
+  $ $PYTHON -c "f = open('binary-local', 'w'); f.write('\x00'); f.close()"
   $ cat orig >> binary-local
   $ $PYTHON simplemerge -p binary-local base other
   warning: binary-local looks like a binary file.