How do I enter international phone numbers in accounts and contacts?

I read a couple of Salesforce articles on this topic. They said to put a plus sign in front of the number to prevent Salesforce from reformatting it.

I tried that but it didn't help:

I entered +49 8178 94 07-0 into the phone field. When I saved it, SF converted it to: +49-817-4070

No matter how I enter it, SF converts it to a 10 digit number.

Is it possible to turn this off? 

If I create a new phone field will SF configure it too?

Would I have to set up a text field for International phone numbers?

Any suggestions on how to get past this?

Steve