元宇宙能成为现实吗？

In 1992, the term metaverse was coined by sci-fi writer Neal Stephenson.

1992年，科幻作家尼尔·斯蒂芬森创造了元宇宙一词。

Ever since its inception, the metaverse has had many people flummoxed, even flabbergasted.

自元宇宙这个词诞生以来，它就让很多人感到困惑，甚至大吃一惊。

Is it simply like a video game or could it evolve actually into a common way of life?

元宇宙只是一款电子游戏，还是真的会演变成一种普通的生活方式?

In the metaverse, you can virtually be transported from your couch to a classroom, from a living room to a work luncheon.

在元宇宙中，可以通过虚拟技术，将你从沙发上传送到教室里，从客厅里传送到一顿工作午餐上。

You could walk alongside a hippopotamus on safari or wear a spinny hat and get rambunctious with friends at a concert by Bieber, Drake in the weekend, and you wouldn't even have to leave your room.

你可以在游猎中与河马同行，或是头顶风车帽，与朋友们在比伯和德雷克的周末演唱会上狂欢，你甚至不需要离开你的房间就可以体验这些。

While this technology is catching up with fantasy, it's still being built and is constantly evolving.

虽然这项技术仍未追赶上想象，但它仍在构建中，并在不断发展。

cnn reporter Anna Stewart has more from Dubai.

cnn记者安娜·斯图尔特从迪拜带来报道。

Remember this movie?

还记得这部电影吗?

The concept of a virtual universe is rooted in science fiction and for years, it's been just that fiction.

虚拟宇宙的概念根植于科幻小说，多年来，它只存在于虚构小说中。

But now, technology is beginning to catch up, bringing the idea of the metaverse to reality.

但现在，科技开始迎头赶上，把元宇宙的想法变成现实。

It's home to concerts, expensive digital real estate and hugely popular games. But what exactly is the metaverse?

这里是音乐会、数字豪宅与爆火游戏的发源地。但究竟什么是元宇宙呢?

What does it do, and why should you care?

它的用途是什么，你为什么要关心它?

Let's break it down.

让我们来分析一下。

It means a virtual environment.

元宇宙意味着一个虚拟的环境。

This is Neal Stephenson. He came up with a term metaverse back in 1992. For his book "Snow Crash".

这是尼尔·斯蒂芬森。早在1992年，他就在小说《雪崩》中提出了元宇宙一词。

Back to you Neal.

回到尼尔的书中。

Where large numbers of people can get together and interact with each other, not as they are but through avatars, which are kind of the three-dimensional representations.

在书中，成批的人并非通过真身，而是通过虚拟形象(这是一种三维的表现模型)可以聚在一起，彼此互动。

For so long, our experiences with the Internet have been 2D, it's been something we look at.

长期以来，我们对互联网的体验都是二维的，我们关注的东西一直是二维的。

But the metaverse gives users the sense of being transported into the Internet like this.

但元宇宙让用户有一种可以在互联网之间穿梭的感觉，就像这样。

Oh, hi.

噢, 你好。

Hello.

你好。

Meet Andrew Bosworth, also known as Boz. He works at Meta, formerly named Facebook.

来认识一下安德鲁·博斯沃思，他也被大家称为博兹。他就职于Meta公司(前身为脸书)。

Great.

太好了。

Do we shake hands? How does this work?

我们可以握手吗? 这是如何工作的呢?

We can do a high five.

我们可以击掌。

This is Horizon Workrooms, the company's foothold in the metaverse.

这是“地平线工作室”，该公司在元宇宙市场有一席之地。

It's just one of the many ways into the metaverse that are currently available.

这只是目前可用的进入元宇宙世界的众多方式之一。

In these virtual worlds, you can play games, do business and dance with strangers that turn into friends, except that this friend could be on the other side of the world.

在这些虚拟世界里，你可以与陌生人共享游戏、共同经商、共同起舞，这些陌生人可以变为朋友，只不过这个朋友可能居住在世界的另一边。

Is it as good as being together?

这和在一起一样好吗?

No, and it probably never will be, but it's the next best thing.

不，也许永远都无法和在一起一样好，但这是退而求其次的好办法。

This all sounds exciting, until you realize that the technology for building this new iteration of the Internet is -- well, still being built.

直到你意识到构建这个新一代互联网的技术——嗯，仍然在构建中，这一切听起来才没有那么激动人心。