Saudi Arabia Launches ‘Traditional’ Metaverse to Celebrate Independence Day

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Culture has launched a Metaverse program to showcase and preserve the country's cultural heritage.

The Saudi government's Cultural Universe Metaverse initiative, which takes users back to Saudi Arabia's long history in 1727, went live on February 22. Metaverse is built on Oracle Hyperledger Fabric 2.5 blockchain technology and developed by droppGroup's Generative Media. Intelligence Artificial Intelligence (AI) system droppPhygital.

The virtual world takes a first-person shooter approach to help users navigate Metavas. Users can walk freely along the shared path with other users and explore the information provided on both sides of the path. Walking near virtual representations of historical events will trigger audio that explains the event in detail. But the audio is limited to Arabic and not available in English.

The cultural universe includes other areas dedicated to music, art, history, food and crafts around Saudi heritage, as well as a small selection of video games. The service is free to use and can be accessed via web, mobile, virtual reality headsets and other supported digital devices. The official statement of the government of Saudi Arabia says:

This cross-platform compatibility embodies the Ministry of Culture's commitment to inclusiveness, allowing a diverse international audience to explore and engage with the rich history of Saudi culture.

The Saudi Ministry of Culture – responsible for preserving and promoting the country's cultural heritage and contemporary artistic expression – sees Metaverse as a “moment of change” and regards the initiative as a cultural revolution.

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Saudi Arabia, along with the rest of the Middle East, has passed Metaverse's “encouraging era” and is moving toward using the technology to grow its economy, said Samuel Huber, CEO of LandVault. Government agencies in the Middle East.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Huber talked about Metavas building 3D experiences embedded in websites. He added:

The biggest part of what we got was the governments in the Middle East, especially the United Arab Emirates. [United Arab Emirates]Saudi and Qatar are striving to digitize their infrastructure and create a more exciting economy for their citizens.

He added that, like blockchain and AI, it is “one of the pillars” of the Middle East's economic growth.

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