The European Commission has posted a montage of sex scenes from European films on YouTube, drawing criticism from some lawmakers who described it as "soft porn."
The Commission, which is the executive branch of the European Union, launched its own channel on YouTube last week called EUTube, saying it wanted to spread messages about topics such as climate change and human rights.
Commission spokesman Martin Selmayr said the sex scene clips - drawn from award-winning films such as "Amelie" and "Bad Education" - highlighted Europe's tradition of rich cinema.
The 44-second clip - titled "Film Lovers Will Love This!" - was posted last week on EUTube. It has been viewed more than 280,000 times, far outpacing the second most popular video on the EUTube site, a humanitarian aid clip.
Eighteen couples, both straight and gay, are shown having sex in bedrooms, kitchens and restaurant bathrooms.
Selmayr said Tuesday he had not received any complaints about the video.
But EU lawmaker Maciej Giertych of Poland, from the conservative League of Polish Families, accused the commission of using "immoral methods" of promotion, according to the British Broadcasting Corp.
Godfrey Bloom of Britain's euro-skeptic U.K. Independence Party also criticized the video, calling it "soft porn" and "cheap, tawdry and tacky."
The commission's foray onto the popular video-sharing Web site, he said, "was like watching an elderly relative trying to be cool: very embarrassing."
The steamy clip, as well as the overall concept of EUTube, has generated heated exchanges on the channel's comment forum with opinions divided between outrage and admiration. The commission has designated an official to service the Web site and respond online to the criticism.
The 46 videos posted on EUTube so far cover topics such as road safety, integration of immigrants and reform of the common market for sugar. There are both English and German channels, and French is expected to be up and running in the next few weeks.
日前，欧洲委员会将从欧洲电影中剪辑的一些性爱视频传到了YouTube视频网站上，招致了一些立法者的批评，他们称之为“软色情”。
上周，欧盟的执行机构欧洲委员会在YouTube上为自己开设了一个名为EUTube的频道，并称其主要目的是想传播与气候变化和人权等问题有关的信息。
欧洲委员会发言人马丁·塞尔玛说，这些出自《天使爱美丽》和《不良教育》等获奖影片的性爱视频剪辑反映出欧洲电影丰富多彩的传统。
这个时长44秒、名为《影迷的视觉大餐》的视频于上周被上传至EUTube频道。这个视频被浏览了28万多次，远远超过站内人气第二的、一个有关人道主义援助的视频。
短片展示了18对异性和同性伴侣在卧室、厨房和餐馆洗手间内的激情镜头。
塞尔玛于本周二表示，他并没有听到任何与这个视频有关的不满。
但据英国广播公司报道，欧盟的立法者、保守团体“波兰家庭联盟”的成员Maciej Giertych指责欧盟采取了一种“淫荡的宣传手段”。
反对欧盟整合及英国加入欧元区的英国独立党人士戈德弗里·布鲁姆也对这个视频进行了抨击，称之为“软色情”并形容其“低劣、下流、伤风败俗。”
他说，欧盟在YouTube上弄的这么一出“就像看一个年纪大的亲戚想赶点时髦：十分令人尴尬。”
这一色情视频以及开设EUTube频道的总体理念引起网友在论坛上的激烈讨论，观点大致分为气愤和赞扬两派。目前，欧盟已指定一位官员来维护这个网站，并在线回应网友的批评。
到目前为止，上传至EUTube网站上的46个视频主要涉及交通安全、移民融合、糖类共同市场改革等话题。网站现在有英语和德语两个频道，法语频道可能会在几周内上线。
