Sony BMG Music Entertainment is pulling the copy protected CDs which have caused a firestorm of consumer protest.

In a statement on its Web site, Sony said customers who've already purchased the discs can exchange them, and remaining inventory will be pulled.

"We share the concerns of consumers regarding these discs, and we are instituting a program that will allow consumers to exchange any CD with XCP software for the same CD without copy protection," the Sony statement said. "We also have asked our retail partners to remove all unsold CDs with XCP software from their store shelves and inventory. We will make further details of this program available shortly."

Sony's copy-protection scheme has been under fire since early November, when security researchers began blasting Sony for using a rootkit as the core of its protection software. That rootkit installed software unbeknownst to users, which could be exploited by attackers to install and hide malicious code on any PC playing the discs.

"We deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause our customers and we are committed to making this situation right," the Sony statement continued. "It is important to note that the issues regarding these discs exist only when they are played on computers, not on conventional, non-computer-based CD and/or DVD players."

Sony had made a first step toward the announcement that it's pulling the discs entirely when it said last Friday that it would stop producing any future CDs equipped with the XCP copy protection technology.