Syntax:
SET {CHARACTER SET | CHARSET}
    {charset_name | DEFAULT}

This statement maps all strings sent between the server and the current
client with the given mapping. SET CHARACTER SET sets three session
system variables: character_set_client and character_set_results are
set to the given character set, and character_set_connection to the
value of character_set_database. See
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/charset-connection.html.

The default character set mapping can be restored by using the value
DEFAULT. The default depends on the server configuration.

ucs2, utf16, and utf32 cannot be used as a client character set, which
means that they do not work for SET CHARACTER SET.

URL: http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/set-character-set.html

