WASHINGTON (AFP) -- A Hewlett-Packard contract employee fended off advances from chief executive Mark Hurd for two years before accusing him of sexual harassment, according to a letter that prompted his resignation as head of the world's largest computer company.

Hurd, who is now president of HP rival Oracle, resigned as HP CEO in August 2010 following an investigation by the company's board of directors into the sexual harassment allegations raised in the letter.

The eight-page letter was sent to Hurd in June 2010 by celebrity attorney Gloria Allred on behalf of Jodie Fisher, a former actress in adult films and reality TV star who was working for HP as an event organizer.

The letter was obtained and published by technology blog AllThingsDigital and several other US media organizations on Friday after a Delaware court ruled that it could be made public despite efforts by Hurd to keep it under wraps.

An HP investigation found that Hurd had not broken sexual harassment rules, but was in breach of the company's "standards of business conduct."

The letter from Allred, which offers an out-of-court settlement of the sexual harassment claims, said Fisher was contacted in 2007 about hosting HP executive events after Hurd saw her on an NBC television show.

"Looking at what ensued over the next two years, it is clear you had designs to make her your lover from the onset using your status and authority as CEO of HP and HP monies expecting her to be with you," the letter said.

"It is appalling that you would use HP revenues for the purpose of procuring female companionship and romance under the guise of HP business."

The letter described meetings between Hurd and Fisher in various cities around the world during which she is said to have repeatedly rebuffed his attempts to kiss her or to get her to spend the night with him.

During a 2008 visit to Madrid, Hurd took Fisher to an ATM machine and allegedly showed her a checking account balance of over $1 million in a bid to impress her.

"At times, you would behave professionally seemingly 'getting' that she was not going to have sex with you," the letter said. "At other times, not, and you would relentlessly attempt to cajole her into having sex with you.

"You treated her as a sex object, hand-picking her from a TV show, expecting sexual favors in return for giving her work," the letter said.

"All your advances were unwelcome, awkward and were never reciprocated in any way," it said, adding that Fisher was "discarded" by HP in 2009 after rebuffing Hurd's advances.

Hurd resigned from HP on August 6, 2010, two days after reaching an out-of-court settlement with Fisher, who has since said that there were unspecified "inaccuracies" in Allred's letter.