Meta-works: Online universe becomes lab for real-life products

Fashion companies are starting to use the metaverse as a testing bed for future products, which makes it more affordable to test new ideas and potentially sell digital-only products. — REUTERS/File Photo

Online platforms that are precursors of the metaverse vision for the internet's future are already serving as workrooms to develop products destined for real-life sale.

From sneakers sketched in the virtual world but produced in the real one, to designers who preview clothes on avatars before making them – the barrier between digital and tangible is thinning.