ABSTRACT
Metaverse, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and cryptocurrencies highlight their relevance in the rapidly evolving technological landscape. Web 3.0, a concept associated with the metaverse, focuses on greater user control, enhanced 3D graphical experiences, and the semantic web, which involves a shift from HTML-based page construction to an underlying database structure. The chapter emphasizes the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing in enabling intelligent human–machine dialogue and the emergence of avatars as innovative virtual figures within the metaverse. The challenges and opportunities of the metaverse are explored, including concerns about privacy, hardware accessibility, and large companies’ management of virtual worlds. The characteristics of the metaverse, such as immersion, interactivity, personalization, content creation, and communication, are outlined. Avatars, visual representations of individuals, or fictional characters in online spaces are discussed in the context of the metaverse, emphasizing their role in enhancing social interaction and user engagement. The case study of MetaHuman Creator, developed by Epic Games, is an example of a tool that enables the creation of photorealistic and customizable virtual humans for use in the metaverse.
