The Dark Knight Rises is the most anticipated superhero fim of the year. It’s kind of hard to believe that I’ll finally be able to see the end of Christopher Nolan’s excellent take on Batman this Friday. It’s going to be a huge event and one Internet group is using it to their advantage.

The Internet Defense League is the latest group to fight for civil liberties online. They’re not as well-established as the ACLU or EFF, but their latest idea might just put them on the map. They are going to help celebrate the launch of The Dark Knight Rises by shining a “cat signal” via massive spotlights in cities around the world.

The IDL will begin shining the lights across the sky or onto buildings starting Thursday night. They currently have five cities set up to get the cat signal, but they need your help to make it a reality. They are currently holding a Kickstarter-like fundraiser on their Web site with a goal of $19,000. They are currently at $12,852 which is enough to completely fund two cat signals and prepare three more cities for the signal once they get the funds.

So what kind of goodies do you get if you donate to this wonderful project? A donation of $30 gets you a personal cat signal torch light. If you want to get your own large cat signal, you’re going to have to donate at least $350. That amount nets you an industrial-strength digital projector for one night which can project the cat signal onto buildings or low-flying clouds.

What if you want to go all out though? For $2,000, they will get you a “ridiculously powerful” spotlight to shine the cat signal wherever you want. There are only eight of these things in the United States so the money is well worth it.

If you want to take part in the cat signal Batman party on Thursday night, these are the currently confirmed cities – San Francisco, New York, Washington DC, London and Ulaar Bataar, Mongolia.

All in all, it’s a great idea that has the Batman fan in me pretty excited. I would have loved to see the real Bat signal in the sky, but a cat signal is definitely more in line with what the Internet is about. Let’s just hope the signal doesn’t attract the real Catman.