In 1992, the term Metaverse was first coined in a science fiction novel, named “Snow crash” by Neal Stephenson. It was derived out of two words, i.e, Meta and Universe that combined together forms Metaverse. Metaverse is the new way of interacting with technology. To precisely define Metaverse, is relatively a very difficult task for now as metaverse is a revolutionizing term. The meaning of the term is evolving with the usage. Transformation that occurs in technology is a little too unpredictable. And hence, defining it and confining it to certain boundaries will not be considered justifiable. Metaverse has been extending its meaning, starting from virtual reality to augmented reality and from NFTs to virtual products and their importance. Achieving all these might be distant dreams. But with constant new ideas in the market, metaverse is constantly growing its definition, slowly and gradually moving towards making distant dreams into reality. In present times, Metaverse is at the stage of infancy that will expand its dimensions as it grows. Keeping all these in mind, the definition that could be derived till date, can be stated with little specification. Metaverse is virtual yet augmented shared space, holding as many audiences as one desires. Having the potential to carry a whole lot of economy, providing scope for carrying digital assets across the platform. To describe in simplest terms, Metaverse is an upgrade for the internet where you are inside the world, for which you were merely a spectator. Although for now, the metaverse can be described as a transformative agent that will be a step forward and alter the usage of computers, phones and the internet in our lives. It can be thought of as an online universe that includes virtual space which incorporates various platforms, similar to that of the internet.
Metaverse is a combination of augmented reality and virtual reality. According to Gartner, “Augmented Reality is real time use of information in the form of text, graphics, audio and other virtual enhancements integrated with real world objects. It is the “real world” element that differentiates Augmented Reality from Virtual Reality.” In simple words, Augmented Reality is the maximized replica of the real world in online platforms including text, graphics, audio and other visual enhancement. Whereas, virtual reality is an artificial environment created in order to stimulate a person and gives him an experience similar to reality. It remains intact, even if the user is not using that platform. And hence, Metaverse is a mixture of both, i.e, Augmented and virtual reality. Holding a minute perspective to it, Metaverse has further divided itself into Web 2.5 and Web 3.0. Example- Loka is India's one of the first Metaverses, that have been seeded incorporating a number of elements to reach the distant dream. Breaking it down, we see a lot of elements. With the replica of Connaught Place of Delhi and aim to replicate Baga Beach, the platform serves as the best example to augmented reality. Further, the metaverse helps us to land the actual shops or e-commerce that have been existing.