Is Facebook leading us on a journey to the metaverse?

Nick Clegg will on Monday set out the tech giant's vision of a virtual world where you can work, shop and live'. But the move is prompting new fears over privacy

The concept of the metaverse" first came from the 1992 sci-fi novel Snow Crash as a place that people flee to escape a dangerous corporation-dominated world. It has since come to refer to a range of virtual experiences that have gained popularity during the pandemic - including video games such as Fortnite, non-fungible tokens or even online meetings and events.

But in recent weeks the term has gained new traction - and concern over its potential ethical and societal implications - after Mark Zuckerberg said that in five years, Facebook would be a metaverse company" and declared it the successor to the mobile internet".