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.