Metaverse for advancing government: Prospects, challenges and a research agenda

A number of government agencies have started deploying the Metaverse to connect better with their constituents. The Metaverse provides a rich interaction environment and has the potential to engage with, especially, the younger generation. However, the Metaverse's potential impact on the government sector has been given limited attention. This discussion paper aims to fill this void by reviewing the state of the art, analyzing possible roles of the Metaverse for governments and providing research directions. We found six facilitators and nine barriers and risks. The Metaverse offers much more than a virtual presence or copy of the physical world; significant transformations are needed in government to reap the benefits. Given the evolution of the Metaverse, government presence also needs to evolve, and different governments make different decisions about their Metaverse presence. We recommend more research into the nature, use, applications, transformations, and implications of the Metaverse on government functioning.