Augmented reality: an early taste of the metaverse?

An avatar of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is seen carrying a US flag while riding a hydrofoil in the "Metaverse" during a live-streamed virtual and augmented reality conference to announce the rebrand of Facebook as Meta. — Facebook via REUTERS

When Facebook unveiled a mock-up last week of the "metaverse" – supposedly the internet of the future – it showed people transported to a psychedelic world of flying fish and friendly robots.

But while even Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledges these kinds of experiences could be many years away, some enthusiasts argue that a more modest version of the metaverse is already here.