China | Internet giant Baidu is taking the first steps in metawares

“Metawares” (shrinkage of the meta-universe, “metawares” in English), is a type of digital backing of the physical world that is available through the Internet.

This concept, which is still in its infancy, makes it possible to achieve liberation from physical limitations by enhancing human interactions through 3D.

The opportunities offered by the creation of the “new virtual world” are fueling the appetite of digital giants. Facebook, which is shaping up to be its new business project, went so far as to rename its parent company Meta.

Baidu, nicknamed the Chinese Google, made his first foray into metawars on Monday at the “Metawares” conference in the presence of his boss Robin Lee and an audience of avatars.

This event coincided with the launch of the group’s Metawares app.

Known as XiRang (“Land of Hope”), it allows you to create a digital character (avatar) and interact with other users in the 3D world.

The application is available on mobile phone, computer or virtual reality headsets.

In XiRang, users can move freely between false natural settings or virtual city.

As in real life, they can practice diving at a (virtual) show or at the Shaolin Temple – Mecca of Kung Fu – or in a digital swimming pool.

The XiRang app is only available in China.

Baidu was in the project long before the word metawares became popular in October, when Facebook decided to rename its group Meta.

Like Baidu, Chinese digital giants do not intend to stay away from metawares.

ByteDance (TickTalk) has invested in a number of companies in the field, including Pico, a manufacturer of virtual reality headsets.

Internet juggernaut Tencent operates on its Metawars platform, a major player with its experience in video games.

In the case of Chinese e-commerce champion Alibaba, he created the subsidiary to reflect the various opportunities that Metawares offers.