LONDON, Oct 18 Reuters: Facebook said on Monday that it will hire 10,000 people in Europe to help it build a metaverse The concept of metaverse is quickly becoming a buzzword in technology and business. It generally refers to shared virtual world environments that humans can access using the Internet.
The term can refer to virtual and real augmented reality spaces that are made more richer by the use of virtual reality VR or AR Some people also use the term metaverse to describe gaming worlds, in which users have a character that can walk around and interact with other players
There is also a specific type of metaverse which uses blockchain technology. In these can users buy virtual land and other digital assets using cryptocurrencies.
Many science fiction books and films are set in infull metaverses - alternative digital worlds which are indistinguishable from the real physical world. But this is still fiction. Most real places look more like the inside of a video game than virtual world.
Fans of the metaverse see it as the next stage in the development of the Internet.
Currently people interact with each other online by using social media platforms or going to websites. The accelerated interest in the metaverse can be seen as a result of COVID - 19 pandemic. As more people started working and going to school remotely, there has been a higher demand for ways to make online interaction more lifelike.
The idea of the metaverse attracts a lot of interest from investors and companies who are keen to be part of the next big thing.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in July that the company will try to transition from a social media company to a metaverse company in the next five years or so.
The term is popular in Silicon Valley, with Microsoft also having mentioned converging the digital and physical worlds.
The popular children's game Roblox, which opened its New York Stock Exchange in March, describes itself as a metaverse company. Epic Games' Fortnite is also considered to be part of the Metaverse.
Musicians can make virtual concert within these platforms. For example, thousands of people watched the singer Ariana Grande on Fortnite from October 9, 2016, Epic Games said.
The world's biggest fashion companies have also experimented with making metaverse clothing, which real avatars can wear in virtual environments.