Communications of the ACM
Barbados Is Opening a Diplomatic Embassy in the Metaverse
The embassy will make its home in Decentraland, a virtual destination and marketplace.
Credit: Decentraland
Barbados is building its next embassy in Decentraland, an online world, or metaverse, accessible to anyone with a computer and virtual reality headset.
"This is going to change the way the world works," says Gabriel Abed, Barbados' ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. "The embassy is a small thing. The big thing is what governments can do together when land is no longer physical land and limitations are no longer part of the equation."
In addition to being an immersive, interactive environment, Abed says the metaverse is about diplomatic parity for small, deeply indebted nations like Barbados. "We recognize that we're a 166-square mile island — we're tiny — but in the metaverse we're as large as America or Germany," he says.
The diplomatic compound will cost between $5,000 and $50,000 to build, but a "five-figure" grant from Decentraland will cover the expenses.
From Bloomberg
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