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The metaverse is the latest buzzword from the technology domain as it promises to transform the ways in which people work, learn, shop, socialize, and entertain themselves. The announcement made by Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg to focus on developing the metaverse has given fresh momentum to a phenomenon that received relatively little attention during the past three decades. Various technologies that support the Metaverse have already been developed, while others are currently in the development stage, for example, virtual reality, augmented reality, the Internet of Things, blockchain, and big data. However, this scoping review aims to present a comprehensive overview of the current state of research on the metaverse, including the degree to which researchersand industry expertsarefocusingonitsmultipleaspects, notonly thetechnology and infrastructure but the economic and social factors as well. A total of eight themes have been identified as a result of the scoping review and thematic analysis. This report discusses these themes individually and in relation to one another to determine the general focus of research on this topic and identify areas where more attention needs to be paid. It is expected that by considering the recommendations presented in this report, the industry will be able to achieve balanced and sustained growth of the metaverse while avoiding some of the pitfalls that have been experienced in earlier decades due to misplaced enthusiasm and exaggerated claims about the potential of disruptive and novel technologies.
George Varvatsoulis (Mon,) studied this question.