Yahoo to test its Metaverse tech with virtual events in Hong Kong

Yahoo, the U.S. internet service provider, announced that it would launch a series of metaverse events in Hong Kong to test virtual advertising technologies. Its announcement came a day after Meta, Facebook’s parent company, revealed similar plans for the region.

The company outlined that it would organise virtual music concerts and exhibitions from local idol groups and artists in Decentraland’s Metaverse. 

Lorraine Cheung, head of audience at Yahoo Hong Kong, believes the Metaverse events would offer social entertainment opportunities to the Hong Kong residents who have been cooped up in their homes due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

‘We hope to use the Metaverse to connect people regardless of time and physical location,’Cheung said.

The event will feature an NFT exhibition from Yahoo titled The Abyss of Kwun Tong. For the collection, the company partnered with local artists to focus on the iconic neighbourhood of Kwun Tong, which has been heavily transformed by redevelopment.

According to Leung Ching-Hsuan, creative producer on the project, the goal of the exhibition was to ‘retain humanity using technology.’

In recent days, Hong Kong has been a popular testing grounds for Metaverse and Blockchain projects.

On Tuesday, Meta disclosed its Metaverse ambitions for Hong Kong, which included partnerships with local businesses and organisations to offer ‘first-hand’ metaverse experiences for residents.

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics also recently launched Hong Kong’s first exchange-traded fund, which will follow Blockchain-related companies listed in major world markets.

All things considered, metaverse technologies seem to have a promising future, especially after international consulting organisation McKinsey predicted in its report that annual global spending related to the metaverse could reach US$5 trillion. It specified that gaming, advertising, e-commerce, and virtual learning would be the significant market contributors.

Photo: Yahoo