my $testString = "          00008008 000000FF 00800000";
$testString =~ s/\s+//g;

# convert to a string representation of '0's and '1's
my $bits = unpack("B*", pack("H*", $testString));

# test if specific bit is set
my $maskResult = substr($bits, 1, 1) eq '1';

printf "%s\n--> 2nd bit from left: %d\n", $bits, $maskResult;