The New York Times reports that very rich California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman became a wee bit too forceful and angry with an eBay employee in 2007 who failed to prepare her for an interview with Reuters on that virtual life thingy, Second Life.

"The employee, Young Mi Kim, was preparing Ms. Whitman for a news media interview that day," the Gray Lady notes. "Ms. Kim, who was not injured in the incident, hired a lawyer and threatened a lawsuit, but the dispute was resolved under the supervision of a private mediator."

And how much did this unprofessional shove cost Meg? Somewhere around $200,000.

Kim, we should point out, still works at eBay as a senior manager for corporate and executive communications.