By George Lawton

The metaverse is envisioned by many as the next generation of the internet, a vast, unfettered 3D network of virtual and augmented spaces where people can engage in all the activities they do online — work, play, learn, explore — but in ways that feel more like real life.

For this to happen, many layers of technology standards and protocols will need to be established and adopted by metaverse platforms.

Enter the Metaverse Standards Forum (MSF), founded in June 2022 to “foster the development of interoperability standards for an open and inclusive metaverse, and accelerate their development and deployment through pragmatic, action-based projects.” Since the vision of the metaverse is still a work in progress, the group also has the stated purpose of bringing some order to the underlying terminology of the metaverse.

Read more: The Metaverse Standards Forum: What you need to know