LOS ANGELES (AP) – Since a Megan’s Law Web site opened last Friday, it has received more than 5.5 million hits from those wanting to see if they live near registered sex offenders, county authorities said Tuesday.

The map, accessible 24 hours a day, gives search options by ZIP code, city or address. The information can then be taken to a police or sheriff’s station to see names, photographs and criminal records of convicted sex offenders.

The county has 17,047 sex offenders. A total 13,745 are considered “serious” offenders, meaning they’ve been convicted of crimes such as rape, sodomy, assault with intent to commit rape and child molestation.

Another 121 are considered “high risk” sex offenders because they’ve been convicted of multiple violent crimes.

The remaining have been convicted of possession of pornography, incest, indecent exposure, spousal rape and misdemeanor sexual battery.

The map shows where sex offenders live throughout the county and comes equipped with a zoom feature to look at specific neighborhoods, but it does not list addresses. It simply indicates the general location of an offender’s home with a box or circle in the middle of the offender’s street.