Two men and a woman stand in a room. The men are relaxed: chatting, joking and sharing a drink. But the woman is looking increasingly anxious. Suddenly, one of the men reaches out and touches her without her consent.

Everyone can agree: this is a crime. But what if the man and woman are not people, but avatarsA figure representing a specific person in a video game or online world. ? And what if the room they are standing in is not a physical room, but a virtual room within the metaverseAn online virtual world. A combination of meta, meaning beyond, and universe. ? Is it still a crime?

The female avatar was based on a real person, a 21-year-old researcher for the campaign group SumOfUsA global organisation that campaigns to hold corporations to account on issues such as climate change and corruption. . She recorded the events as they took place in Horizon Worlds, a part of Facebook's Meta - a new virtual reality platform. 

Now, experts are warning that incidents like this may soon become commonplace.

There is no doubt: the metaverse, described as the next evolution of the Internet, is taking off. Last year, nearly 11 million people watched live as pop star Ariana Grande performed a virtual concert inside the video game Fortnite. 

Estimates suggest that by 2026, 25% of the global population will spend one hour or more per day shopping, working or communicating in the metaverse. But anywhere large crowds gather, there is the potential for people to start doing bad things. 

It is not just sexual assault. Anything that can take place in the real world, from murder and theft to car parking offences, could theoretically take place in the metaverse. 

For some, the idea that crimes can occur in the metaverse is ridiculous. The philosophers Nathan Wildman and Neil McDonnell argue that as virtual objects are fiction, they cannot be stolen. Likewise, when an avatar is killed, the real person it represents does not also die. 

But others say the harm caused by virtual wrongs is very real. The key to understanding this, claims author David ChalmersAn Australian philosopher and cognitive scientist. He is the author of Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy. , is by recognising that virtual reality is not an escape from the real world, but rather an extension of it.

"Once one sees virtual worlds as genuine realities," Chalmers writes, "then the ethics of virtual worlds becomes in principle as serious as ethics in general". 

Yet accepting virtual wrongs as real-life crimes creates a new dilemma: how to punish online offenders.  

Virtual banishment and imprisonment are one option, but it is easy to sidestep bans by reappearing as a new avatar. 

Now, some are calling for a more drastic option: police involvement. In 2012, the Dutch Supreme Court upheld the conviction of two teenagers for stealing another player's virtual amuletThe court decided that the time and effort put into obtaining the amulet meant it had real value. in Runescape. 

But legal cases pose challenges too. It is difficult to find anonymous people online, and many police forces are already overwhelmed by crimes taking place in the physical world. 

Just one thing is clear: as we incorporate more and more of our everyday lives into the metaverse, the line between our physical and virtual selves is going to become increasingly blurred. And so too will the line between real-life and online wrongs. 

Yes: Actions that take place in virtual reality can cause harm in the physical world. The metaverse will be a vital part of all of our lives. Online perpetrators should not be able to hide behind a screen.

No: The metaverse is not the real world. Actions in virtual reality do not affect people in the same way as crimes in the physical world. Investigating virtual crimes would be an absurd waste of time.

Or... This is not a new issue. For years, people around the world have used their avatars to wreak havoc and destruction in video and online games. Few would say this is a crime.