Will, a virtual homeless person, is at 3.1 Genesis Plaza in Decentraland, one of the metaverse's virtual reality platforms.
A contraction of meta and universe, the metaverse is a parallel universe accessible through augmented or virtual reality glasses (AR or VR) and sometimes described as the future of the internet.
It arouses the interest of major brands who invest millions, even tens of millions of euros.
The character of Will "will be able to exchange with the people who will come to meet him" in this virtual universe, explains to AFP Jean-Marc Potdevin, president and co-founder of the Entourage network.
“It will inspire them to go into real life and use our app,” which encourages people to connect with homeless people, he adds.
This character will also be featured in an advertising film broadcast on social networks and on television.
Objective of the association: to challenge the general public on the development of technologies, which can affect social interactions, in particular with the most precarious people.
"Before accelerating the virtualization of our social interactions, shouldn't we take care of each other in our real world? By meeting all the people who are alone and isolated and who are only a few meters away from us?” she asked in a press release.
© 2022 AFP