
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
Given that point E is on the ellipse C: $$\frac {x^{2}}{a^{2}}$$ + $$\frac {y^{2}}{b^{2}}$$ = 1 (a > b > 0), a circle with center E is tangent to the x-axis at the right focus F₂ of the ellipse C, and intersects the y-axis at points A and B. Also, ∆ABE is an equilateral triangle with side length 2.

(I) Find the equation of the ellipse C.
(II) Given the circle O: x² + y² = $$\frac {18}{5}$$, let P be any point on circle O, and its tangent intersects ellipse C at points M and N. Determine whether |PM| • |PN| is a constant value. If it is, find this constant value. If not, explain why.

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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