A study of millions of Enron e-mail messages found scores of messages with content that posed all kinds of potential liability risks.

The review shows once again that corporations and corporate employees need to watch what they say in e-mail, the study concluded.

Boxborough, Mass.-based anti-spam vendor Audiotrieve, known for its InBoxer title, examined messages from Enron have been released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) during its investigation of Enron on charges it manipulated energy prices in California and other Western states.

The message content survey is unusual since few companies would willingly open up their e-mail archives to researchers. Enron, however, had no choice.

The study, said Audiotrieve, found sizable number of messages that posed liability risks. "The results are alarming and should cause concern for corporations of all sizes," company executives said in a statement.

The exam revealed tens of thousands of Enron messages, four percent of all of those released by the FERC, contained inappropriate content ranging from porn to racial comments that could have led to lawsuits. Another eight percent included personal content such as messages about medications and ailments.

With laws and regulations such as HIPAA, Gramm-Leach-Bliley, Sarbanes-Oxley, and the European Union's privacy measures, said Audiotrieve, corporations can be held accountable for such communiqus.

"Liability can apply to all companies, large or small, and many are paying for it in high-profile lawsuits," said Roger Matus, the chief executive officer of Audiotrieve in a statement.

Matus said that his company was working on technology that would ensure all messages, both in- and outbound, comply with legislation and regulations.