What is the metaverse?
It's a space where digital representations of people - avatars - interact at work and play, meeting in their office, going to concerts and even trying on clothes. At the centre of this universe will be virtual reality, a digital world that you can already enter via Facebook's Oculus VR headsets. It will also include augmented reality, a sort of step back from VR where elements of the digital world are layered on top of reality - think Pokemon Go or Facebook's recent smart glasses tie-up with Ray-Ban.
Facebook already has a professional version of the metaverse: Horizon Workrooms, an app that lets Oculus-sporting workers enter virtual offices and hold meetings. Indeed, Nick Clegg, Facebook's VP of global affairs, holds Monday team meetings in the office metaverse, replete with virtual table and whiteboard.
He has said the metaverse will be a series of interlinked worlds, where a user moves seamlessly from Facebook's world to Apple's or Google's, or a computer game publisher's. This month Facebook said it was creating 10,000 jobs in the EU as part of growth plans that include building a metaverse.
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This story is from the October 29, 2021 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the October 29, 2021 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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