There was some animated mischief afoot when former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner visited massively multiplayer online game Second Life earlier this year.

But nothing like this.

CNet's Daniel Terdiman reports that an in-game interview he was conducting with a well-to-do Second Life purveyor of virtual real estate was interrupted by a griefer who launched a disruptive flying penis attack.

Terdiman's account raises all sorts of issues about the manipulation of in-game economies and social interactions in the virtual world. From the article:

On Monday, Graef visited CNET's Second Life bureau for a discussion about her business, how best to set up businesses in Second Life and the nature of competition there.

Unfortunately, as the interview was commencing, the event was attacked by a "griefer," someone intent on disrupting the proceedings. The griefer managed to assault the CNET theater for 15 minutes with--well, there's no way to say this delicately--animated flying penises.

...the interview was attacked again, and the protester even managed to crash the entire server on which Chung's theater is held.

Airborne manly equipment aside, Terdiman's interview with Second Life real estate magnate Ailin Graef of  Anshe Chung Studios is fascinating and worth a read. Sadly - or perhaps fortunately - we have no screen shots of the event. Use your imagination...

GP: Thanks to Valleywag, where we first stumbled upon this story.