The e-mail message came as company officials, inundated by internal messages from angry employees, withering attacks on the Web and strong criticism from gay rights groups, sought to quell rancor after the disclosure this week that the company, which had supported the bill in past years, did not do so this year. Critics argue that the decision resulted from pressure from a prominent local evangelical Christian church.

In his message, confirmed by company officials, Ballmer wrote that he had done ''a lot of soul-searching over the past 24 hours.'' He said that he and Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, both personally supported the bill but that the company had decided not to take an official stand on the legislation this year. He said they were pondering the role major corporations should play in larger social debates.

The bill, which would have extended protections against discrimination in employment, housing and other areas to gay men and lesbians, failed by one vote Thursday.