Bug in MsDataSetGenerator when using empty typed elements?

Take the following XML file:

< xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" >
<root>
    <object name="foo">bar</object>
    <object name="bar" />
</root>

Now use the "Create Schema" command from the VS.NET 2005 IDE.  This creates the following (valid) schema:

< xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" >
<xs:schema attributeFormDefault="unqualified" elementFormDefault="qualified" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
  <xs:element name="root">
    <xs:complexType>
      <xs:sequence>
        <xs:element maxOccurs="unbounded" name="object">
          <xs:complexType>
            <xs:simpleContent>
              <xs:extension base="xs:string">
                <xs:attribute name="name" type="xs:string" use="required" />
              </xs:extension>
            </xs:simpleContent>
          </xs:complexType>
        </xs:element>
      </xs:sequence>
    </xs:complexType>
  </xs:element>
</xs:schema>

Now set the CustomTool property on the XSD file to "MsDataSetGenerator".  And try using the dataset in your project.  Something like:

This will throw a ConstraintException on the 2nd "object" element.  Assigning any value to the element will work as long as it is not empty.  Even though the XML validates against the XSD schema (a string can be empty).  Even when I tried extending from a custom type with min-length explicitly set to 0, the dataset will still fail to validate.

Is this a bug or am I doing something wrong here   Is there a workaround without having to modify XML files

Cheers,
     Thomas