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14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 MAY 2022 NEWS KARL AZZOPARDI VIRTUAL reality's growing so- phistication is sowing the seeds for businesses that are starting to experiment with reaching au- diences in the metaverse – the internet's next iteration. And a start-up in Sliema hopes to be an industry leader in these ser- vices. Metaverse Architects, the brainchild of Sean Ellul and Luca Arrigo, was incorporated in January 2022 after a rebrand from Decentraland Architects which was started in March of 2021. With augmented reality moving into smartphones and virtual reality hardware gain- ing more acceptance, the next step in technological evolution is looking more likely to be the metaverse – a form of 'living in- ternet'. Rather than a singular techno- logical space, the metaverse em- bodyies a set of experiences in immersive virtual reality worlds where people, using 3D avatars, can interact and exist. Arrigo said the company start- ed off with the mission to get virtual "land" and develop it in "any way possible". The compa- ny has now evolved to become a one-stop-shop for everything metaverse. Metaverse Architects imple- ments customers' vision on 'virtual real-estate', developing metaverse plots which users can interact with when explor- ing the space. The spaces can range from outlets where people can buy NFTs (non-fungible to- kens), to interactive games. "We try and cover every single aspect of the needs of our clients when it comes to the metaverse because the majority of clients we get aren't aware of what the potential is, of what the business opportunity is like, what exactly they need to build," Sean Ellul said. "Most of our clients come in because they listen to the hype and they're not sure how exact- ly they can enter. It ends with us building a whole system for them to be able to build a com- munity with a revenue generat- ing model, which is actually able to sustainably develop the space, so that it includes their commu- nity members into it." Ellul said clientele stem from a number of industries which in- clude banks, celebrities, sports clubs, crypto companies, bitcoin mining companies, advertising companies and athletes. "In truth there's a space for every single kind of in- ternet-based utility in the metaverse, because it is the ex- tension of 2D interfaces into 3D immersive realities so there's a space for anyone and everyone," Ellul said. "Snoop Dogg for ex- ample hosted a concert in the metaverse. It's one of the easiest ways to say, 'alright, instead of a concert happening physical- ly, or just physically, there's a chance for everyone to be able to buy the ticket and join and meet fellow Snoop Dogg fans and listen to the concert in the metaverse'." He played down claims the technology will be unsuccess- ful as people will still opt for the "real thing". "It's important to note this doesn't disrupt the real world, it doesn't disrupt concerts in real life, it disrupts Twitch, YouTube live, or Facebook live because seeing it on a 2D screen live is something we can do right now, but if you had to choose be- tween seeing it live on Facebook and then actually entering the space live, while being able to physically walk in the space and interact with people over there, it's so much better," Ellul said. A project which Metaverse Ar- chitects are working on together with Reporters without Borders is an uncensored library in De- centraland. They will be creat- ing an uncensored library where citizens from countries with is- sues of censorship, can enter the space and access publications which might be banned in their respective country. "It's one of those ways in which we're managing to empower people using the metaverse," he said. For the average internet user, Metaverse and blockchain tech- New kids on the blockchain: Start-up looks to pave the way in the metaverse Karl Azzopardi gets ready to take the next step into the future, by putting on the VR set and explore Metaverse Architects' 'real estate'

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