We are on the verge of a massive reconfiguration of the way in which we digitally communicate, engage with one another, and do commerce. Emerging at the same time are the Metaverse, the 3D, avatar-centric, virtual reality platform, and the decentralised Web 3.0 platform, built on blockchain, supporting 3D displays, and artificial intelligence. Working together, the Metaverse and Web 3.0 will combine to support most online communication and commerce in just a few years. While parts of these entities will stand independently, the two platforms will overlap and combine most powerfully to revolutionise the way in which we all use the Internet and host the combination of our physical and digital lives. Perhaps “phygital” best describes the new environment that is emerging, combining the terms “physical” and “digital”: “Today's consumer is Phygital: they make consumer choices and purchases both digitally and in the physical world.”1
The development of email and instant messaging through the Internet in the 1970s and 80s inevitably led to the emergence of the World Wide Web 1.0 in the 1990s, with browsers providing easy access to text and messaging at websites. Following a period
