In a statement Facebook’s Meta Platforms said, it is beginning to test tools for selling digital assets and experiences on its virtual reality platform Horizon Worlds.

The tools, a key part of its plan for monetizing the metaverse, will be initially available only to a handpicked set of users who are creating virtual classes, games and fashion accessories within the company’s immersive platform, accessible via VR headsets, said Meta in a statement.

Using the tool, users will be able to sell their accessories and services in the specialized digital spaces they have built, said the company.

Meta is also testing a “creator bonus” program for a small set of Horizon Worlds users in the United States, through which it will pay participants each month for using new features it launches.

“We want there to just be tons of awesome worlds, and in order for that to happen there needs to be a lot of creators who can support themselves and make this their job,” said Mark Zuckerberg in a conversation with early adopters.

Meta has invested heavily in augmented reality and virtual reality to create a futuristic idea of a network of virtual environments, a metaverse, which users can connect via different devices to work, socialize and play.

In the metaverse, users will be able to buy and sell land, buildings, avatars and names using blockchain-based virtual assets. The market for such assets exploded last year, with sales sometimes fetching hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Meta’s Horizon Worlds, an expansive VR social platform, and Horizon Venues, which is focused on virtual events, are early iterations of metaverse-like spaces.

Categories: Creativity, Entrepreneurship, HR & Organization, Strategy