Singapore (AP) — Bill Gates might not use AOL, but he’s definitely got mail. The Microsoft Corp. chairman receives millions of Internet messages a day, said Steve Ballmer, the company’s chief executive. “Bill literally receives 4 million pieces of e-mail per day, most of it spam,” Ballmer said Thursday.

Spam or junk e-mails are unsolicited messages, generally advertising goods or services and usually sent to many e-mail accounts simultaneously.

Ballmer said Microsoft has special technology that just filters spam intended for Gates. In addition, several Microsoft employees are dedicated to ensuring that nothing unwanted gets into his inbox.

“Literally there’s a whole department almost that takes care of it,” he said.

Ballmer was in Singapore for the company’s Government Leader’s forum, which ends Friday.

Tags: Bill Gates, email, microsoft, spam, Steve Ballmer