Facebook's pivot to the Metaverse has attracted memes, criticism and ridicule but now an entire country has decided to poke fun at Mark Zuckerberg's vision of the future.
The organisation Inspired by Iceland has released a parody of Zuckerberg's Meta announcement, with a hilarious advert designed to get people back to the small island.
The video has been seen by over 4 million people in total so far, more than 10 times the number who live in the Nordic nation.
It opens with 'Chief Visionary Officer Zack Mossbergsson', who bears a passing resemblance to the Meta CEO, wanting to talk about a revolutionary approach on how to connect our world without being "super weird".
"Some said it's not possible. Some said it's out of reach. To them we say it's already here. Seriously, look, it's right here," he says, gesturing to some amazing scenery.
He then unveils its name - the Icelandverse, "enhanced actual reality without silly looking headsets".
"In our open world experience, everything is real. And has been for millions of years. It's completely immersive, with water that is wet, skies you can see with your eyeballs and volcanic rocks you can caress," he continues, with deadpan humour and brilliant comedy timing.
"The Icelandverse is a world of possibilities so endless they'll be here forever. So join us today. Or tomorrow. Or whenever. We are really easy going."
Inspired by Iceland is tasked with promoting the country and its products and this may be its most successful campaign yet, given Zuckerberg himself has acknowledged the video.
Inspired by Iceland tweeted: "Our very own Zack Mossbergsson even managed to convince his friend Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook to enter the Icelandverse."
It included a screenshot from the Meta CEO saying it was "amazing" and clearly enjoying the humour of the parody.
"I need to make a trip to the Icelandverse soon," Zuckerberg wrote. "Glad you're wearing sunscreen too," he concluded with a laughing face emoji.
That's a reference to a shot in the video where Mossbergsson's face is covered in sunblock, a hark back to the billionaire's face when he was pictured wearing too much sunscreen while riding an eFoil surfboard last year.
The term 'metaverse' was first coined by author Neal Stephenson in his 1992 science fictional novel Snow Crash as a type of next generation internet.
Zuckerberg's vision, according to the company, is a social, 3D virtual space where people can share immersive experiences with others, even when you can't be together in person, as well as doing things together you can't do in the physical world.
However it's been criticised by some early adopters for capitalising on a concept it did not create, with one saying it was doing so "to essentially secure the new trademark legally as soon as possible as more brands become interested".
