Submitted by: kirkland on Monday March 15th, 2004 at 01:05 AM EST

Online marketplace eBay Inc. on Friday said it had removed from its Web site a listing offering three young Vietnamese women for auction and is reporting the poster to local authorities.

The listing, which said it was for delivery only in Taiwan, "was an egregious violation of not only eBay policies but also the law," eBay spokesman Hani Durzy said.

"It was pulled as soon as we were aware of it. Anything illegal is against our policies. There is absolutely no room for human trafficking" on the site, said Durzy.

EBay also has suspended the poster, who originally listed the women for auction on eBay Taiwan, he said.

Durzy said he was not certain of the dates the posting appeared on eBay, which is a popular venue for bidding on and shopping for myriad items -- from cars to collectibles.

EBay, along with its community of users, keeps a constant watch on listings and reports cases of illegal activities to law enforcement.

Source: Forbes