"I love coming to work every day!"

These were CEO Meg Whitman's closing thoughts in a memo to eBay employees written on October 4, 2002, and released to the public via Web site http://www.internalmemos.com on Saturday. In the rest of the memo, Ms. Whitman defends her actions in purchasing pre-IPO shares of stock through investment bank Goldman, Sachs & Co. where she is now a board member. She also reassured eBay employees about the strength of the company.

"Let me say that a fundamental tenet of my life is to conduct my personal and professional activities under the highest ethical standards. Some of you have heard me say that whatever you do in life, you should never under any circumstances compromise your integrity. I live by that rule."

The House Financial Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives is examining Goldman Sachs for possibly offering pre-IPO shares for sale to preferred clients, including eBay executives, in exchange for investment-banking business. The report reveals Whitman, as well as eBay's founder Pierre Omidyar, former vice-president Jeff Skoll and board member Robert Kagle (partner at Benchmark Capital, a Venture Capital firm that provided early financing for eBay) also received shares. Goldman Sachs handled eBay's own IPO in 1998 as well as this year's purchase of payment service PayPal.

"Since becoming a board member earlier this year, I have not purchased any Goldman Sachs IPO shares," Whitman said.

As a result of the ongoing investigation and public response to her actions, which Whitman called painful, she pledged "to participate in the growing national debate about corporate governance and business ethics."