Michael Novotny, played by Hal Sparks

"I don't think we've really seen, certainly not on television here, anything that as explicitly depicts sexual relationships among gay people," said Showtime's chairman, Matt Blank.

The differences between the American and British versions are more in terms of style than substance.

The Showtime series is glossy and less gritty. Some of life's harsh realities have been smoothed out.

In the British original, one character dies as a result of a drug overdose, but in the American version he survives.

Ted Schmidt, played by Scott Lowell

The first few American episodes amount to an almost slavish adaptation because they follow the British editions almost scene by scene.

New York based Shareef Jenkins, a fan of the British Queer As Folk, was disappointed when he saw a preview of the American series.

He complained that "it wasn't original at all, basically it was just the British version with American accents."

Sexually explicit

Some critics have noted that the American series is more sexually explicit than its British counterpart.

The depiction of a sexual relationship between an adult man and an underage teen has provoked outrage in America as it did in Britain.

After viewing the first episode, Bob Peters from New-York based Morality in Media declared that Queer As Folk is a "celebration of decadence, it is soft-core pornography, it is extremely vulgar, it is indecent."

Justin Taylor, played by Randy Harrison

Matthew Blank at Showtime counters that Queer is Folk is trying to be real and that many underage teenage boys do have sex with older men.

He notes: "It does happen, it's part of the experience, we're not endorsing it, we're not saying its right."

Queer as Folk has also raised concerns among some gays who have seen previews, who feel it reflects a very limited segment of their community.

Too male

Joan Garry, executive director of America's Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is pleased to see the series on the air.

But she laments: "We don't see very much in the way of women represented in this series at all - they are really marginal characters.

"There is not a person of colour to be seen throughout any of the episodes."

Although some gays have complained that Queer is Folk is too male and too focused on drug-taking, promiscuous culture the series is expected to win a strong following in the gay community.

Showtime, which is locked in fierce competition with other US pay subscription channels, is hoping Queer As Folk will bring it a ratings success.

It has made a big investment in the series, paying $1m per edition and committing to 22 one-hour episodes.

But for a ratings winner it will have to find an audience beyond just the gay community.

The series promoters hope it will be embraced as a gay version of Sex and The City and establish a following with young sophisticated urban audiences.