What is the metaverse?

The metaverse was first coined in Neal Stephenson’s 1992 sci-fi novel Snow Crash, in which he described a virtual reality-based successor to the internet.

It is an extensive online world in which people are able to interact via digital avatars - a hypothesised 3D environment, through personal computing, smartphones, and virtual augmented reality headsets, combining both virtual and physical spaces.

It also implements social media elements such as avatar identity, and content creation.

However, the concept of the metaverse is not without its critics.