Facebook launches VR remote work app, calling it a step to the 'metaverse'

Facebook?s test of its new Horizon Workrooms remote-working app for its virtual reality Oculus Quest 2 headsets is shown in this handout image obtained by Reuters on August 18, 2021. Facebook/Handout via REUTERS

(Reuters) -Facebook Inc on Thursday launched a test of a new virtual-reality remote work app where users of the company's Oculus Quest 2 headsets can hold meetings as avatar versions of themselves.

The beta test of Facebook's Horizon Workrooms app comes as many companies continue to work from home after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down physical workspaces and as a new variant is sweeping across the globe.