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EBay chief sees possible impact from Iraq war

LA QUINTA, Calif., Feb 25 (Reuters) - Online auctions giant eBay Inc. is eyeing a slump in U.S. consumer confidence, but is more concerned about the potential business impact of a war with Iraq, the company's chief executive said on Tuesday.

EBay was seeing rapid growth in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands and was planning to return to the Japanese market, Meg Whitman said in a dinner address at the Goldman Sachs technology conference in this resort town.

Despite strength in the company's international business, which she believed may outpace its U.S. operations one day, Whitman said the geopolitical climate could affect sales.

"I think war in Iraq is a potential issue for us...many eBay users will go from the Net to CNN," she said.

She was less downbeat but still cautious about U.S. consumer confidence, which has dipped on war fears, weakness in the stock market and a grim labour market.

"We have seen continued strength in the consumer," she said, but added: "I think there is (now) some concern on our part."

Ebay went public in 1998 and has steadily increased sales and earnings, as virtually every other Internet company has struggled.

Giving an insight into the online business, Whitman said that at peak times -- Sunday morning and evening and Monday evening -- between 5,000 and 6,000 items were listed for sale every second.

A piece of diamond jewellery was sold every 83 seconds, she said, while a sports utility vehicle was sold every 15 minutes.

The near-total dominance of electronic fund transfers, combined with relatively short shipping times had made Germany a rapid success, she said. The company also planned to return to Japan, which it left after difficulties in gaining a toehold in the market.

"Japan is an important market to us," she said. "Ultimately we will go back to Japan...the timing needs to be right."

In terms of domestic competition, Whitman said the company was "not so worried about" competition from AOL, but was looking at challenges from sites like AutoTrader.com, which were expanding into niche, eBay-like markets.

She said a dividend for shareholders might be possible as the company completed consolidation efforts with competitors and partially owned subsidiaries, and increased its scale.

"Philosophically, we are not averse to that," she said.