Metaverse is being dubbed as the future of internet technology. The concept has drawn attention of some of the biggest tech bosses such as Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney.

What is metaverse?

Metaverse is not just an improved version of Virtual Reality (VR). In fact, reports the BBC, it could change VR just as the modern smartphone changed the mobile phones of the 1980s.

Metaverse will connect people to a virtual world connecting all sorts of digital environments such as online games, social media, and virtual reality.

And, unlike VR, the use of metaverse won’t just be limited to gaming. Metaverse can be used for practically anything from work to entertainment.

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What does metaverse mean?

Coined by American science fiction writer Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel Snow Crash, metaverse is a combination of the Greek word “meta”, meaning beyond or after, and stem meaning “universe.” Stephenson’s book in which people don virtual reality headsets to interact inside a game-like digital world, has gained a cult status among Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.

Why is big tech interested in metaverse?

Even though still in its infancy, metaverse as an idea has caught the eye of wealthy investors and big tech firms.

Metaverse is one of Facebook’s top priorities and the social media giant has made huge investment in virtual reality through its Oculus headsets.

Facebook claims the metaverse “won’t be built overnight by a single company” and has invested $50 million to fund non-profit groups to help “build the metaverse responsibly.”

However, the company feels it will take another 10 to 15 years to fully realise the metaverse idea.

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Sweeney, the head of Epic Games, has long been an ardent fan of the metaverse.

Epic Games’ Fortnite has hosted concerts, brand events, and other events inside its own digital world.

Meanwhile, Unity, a 3D development platform, is investing in “digital twins” and the graphics company Nvidia is building its “Omniverse”, which it describes as a platform for connecting 3D virtual worlds.