SharePoint 2010 Lists tp_fields - not in XML?

Hello,

I have a requirement to report directly on SharePoint data, and I am looking to use the tp_fields data from Lists table to get the mapping between the SQL column name (nvarchar1, nvarchar2,ntext1,int1 etc.) and SharePoint list column name. I will then create some SQL views which represents my data in a more understandable format (that mirrors the SharePoint list.)

This should be in XML format within tp_fields, however I just get the below:

0xA8A930310C000000B4260000789CD55A896EDB4812FD152E77334880698B47F38A6D011E1F13617D04B193 (...but much, much longer!)

Any ideas how to convert this to the XML? Or what the issue is? From my research, the tp_fields should contain a direct mapping between nvarchar1 and SharePoint list field name. But all of the examples I can find for this are around SP 2007 - has something changed between the 2? Is there anywhere else I can find this mapping?

Thanks,

Chris.