Are we already living in a metaverse? Mark Zuckerberg wants to reinvent Facebook and take on Fortnite, the world's biggest game, in a battle to decide the future of the Internet.

This isn't the real star, but her digital avatarThe graphical representation of a player in a video game or a user on social media. Avatar comes from Hinduism where it means the form a god takes when it appears on Earth., performing this month to tens of millions inside FortniteThe online game was released in 2017 as a first-person shooter, but evolved into a social space for sharing content. It is owned by Epic Games..

Its creators say it is "more than a game". Fortnite is "this thing called the metaverse - a social place".

Facebook says it will become a "metaverse company", using its Virtual Reality headsets to create an "infinite" virtual space where users can work, play and socialise.

The word metaverse first appeared in in Neal Stephenson's 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash and in the book and film Ready Player One.

It's now a buzzword in Silicon ValleyA global centre of technological innovation in Northern California. It is home to many start-up and global technology companies including Apple, Facebook and Google. for the next stage of the Internet, as two billion more devices come online each year and our offline and online lives become more interconnected.

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg wants to "bring the metaverse to life" but others fear Big TechUsually refers to the five largest information technology companies in the United States: Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple. will be "dictators".

Many have tried to plan a perfect society. Plato's RepublicThe ancient Greek philosopher's most important work concludes that a utopian society would be ruled by a wise and fair philosopher-king. is the earliest example.

The Internet began as a utopia. "The web is for everyone," said its inventor. A place for free speech and the sharing of ideas.

Going meta

But it's big business. On platforms Upland and Roblox, users buy and sell virtual propertyThese are called non-fungible tokens (NFTs). They are unique and can't be copied. Digital artwork, land, music and films have all been sold as NFTs., like a digital Gucci bag that sold for £3,000, more than the price of the physical object.

So the tech giants want to get involved. Critics fear they will create closed environments that will stop creativity. You will never be able to teleport between the worlds created by Facebook, Google and Microsoft.

Some think this battle royaleA fight to the death, named after a Japanese film released in 2000. The online game Fortnite Battle Royale came out in 2017 and became the most played game of all time. is pointless. "The metaverse won't happen," says trend forecaster Sean Monahan. The pandemic forced us to live online. But we prefer "actual reality" and look forward to more time in the real world. A youth survey by Dazed reports only 9% want to stay on social media.

Others say the metaverse is coming, whether we like it or not.

Are we already living in a metaverse?

No. Virtual reality can never replace the real thing. We live in an age of authenticity. Live music will always be more memorable than a virtual concert. Sharing food with friends we can hug will always be better than an online group chat. Tech companies will look for more ways to keep us hooked, but we are happiest when we disconnect.

Yes. We are already citizens of the metaverse. We carry around smartphones that keep us permanently plugged in. People born today consider this normal. We are happier there because we can be close to friends and family. We can relax and be whoever we want to be.