Citiverse and virtual worlds

The citiverse and virtual worlds are redefining the digital landscape, merging physical and digital realities to create immersive, transformative environments. This next frontier in digital transformation holds the power to revolutionize industries, enhance services, and spark innovation across sectors like education, health care, urban planning, entertainment, and commerce.

More than just spaces for interaction, citiverses are living ecosystems for future cities, fuelled by cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), metaverse, blockchain, digital twins, and advanced connectivity.

ITU is at the forefront of shaping people-centred citiverses and virtual worlds, prioritizing accessibility, inclusivity, and sustainability. These virtual environments present unprecedented opportunities for cities to drive economic growth, boost social engagement, and address pressing global challenges — all while building a more connected, equitable, and innovative future.​​

The potential of the citiverse and virtual worlds is transformative, offering groundbreaking opportunities for innovation, connection, and growth. However, turning this promise into reality comes with its challenges.

A major roadblock is technical interoperability — many platforms and ecosystems operate in silos, unable to seamlessly communicate or integrate. This lack of cohesion stifles the creation of a scalable, unified citiverse.

The digital divide further complicates the landscape. Millions lack the connectivity, devices, or digital skills to access and benefit from these virtual spaces, risking the deepening of existing inequalities.

Data privacy and security are pressing concerns, as the citiverse involves vast amounts of personal data and sensitive virtual interactions that must be protected from misuse.

From an environmental standpoint, the energy-intensive computational resources required to power virtual worlds raise significant questions about sustainability.

Finally, governance remains a critical challenge. Without globally agreed-upon policies, ensuring ethical practices, equitable access, and long-term viability in the citiverse is a daunting task.

While the road ahead is complex, addressing these challenges is essential to unlock the full potential of a people-centred, inclusive, and sustainable citiverse.

UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL: SOLUTIONS FOR A THRIVING CITIVERSE

Overcoming the challenges of the citiverse and virtual worlds demands bold strategies and cutting-edge innovations. Here's how we can pave the way for a truly inclusive, secure, and sustainable digital future:

• Breaking silos with Interoperability: Seamless interaction between platforms, devices, and applications is essential. By establishing global standards for data sharing, content creation, and system compatibility, we can ensure a cohesive and scalable citiverse accessible to all.
• Bridging the digital divide: Inclusive access starts with targeted investments in high-speed connectivity, affordable devices, and digital literacy programmes. Empowering communities worldwide will close gaps and foster equal opportunities in virtual spaces.
• Protecting data, building trust: As virtual worlds expand, privacy and security must evolve too. Advanced encryption, user-centric data policies, and governance mechanisms will safeguard personal information and instil confidence among users.
• Greening the virtual world: Sustainability must be at the heart of citiverse design. From leveraging renewable energy to optimizing systems for energy efficiency and embedding circular economy principles, we can minimize the environmental impact of this digital evolution.
• Collaborating for ethical governance: Establishing robust governance frameworks is key. Governments, industry leaders, cities, and international organizations must join forces to develop ethical, equitable guidelines that ensure the citiverse grows responsibly.

With these solutions, the citiverse can truly become a space where innovation thrives, opportunities are endless, and no one is left behind.​

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is at the forefront of driving the development of inclusive, accessible, secure, and sustainable citiverses and virtual worlds. Through global collaboration, cutting-edge research, and the creation of international standards, ITU is laying the foundation for a people-centred metaverse that seamlessly integrates with the broader digital ecosystem.

By championing innovation and inclusivity, ITU ensures that the citiverse evolves as a space where technology serves humanity, fostering connection, opportunity, and sustainability on a global scale.

Research and innovation

The ITU Focus Group on metaverse was instrumental in defining the metaverse and establishing a clear baseline for its technological and societal dimensions. Over its tenure, the group produced 52 technical reports and specifications, covering a wide range of metaverse standardization and policy issues. These include metaverse definitions, enabling technologies, use cases, accessibility, inclusion, sustainability as well as policy and regulations. These deliverables have provided a foundation for ongoing international discussions and innovations, ensuring the metaverse evolves as a secure, inclusive, and sustainable digital ecosystem.

ITU, together with 17 other United Nations (UN) agencies, co-published the 1st UN Executive Briefing on Unlocking the potential of virtual worlds and the metaverse for the SDGs in 2024. The executive briefing provides an in-depth look at the enabling power of these digital spaces in advancing the SDGs, particularly focusing on the transformative impact of the metaverse, which has been defined by ITU Focus Group on metaverse as “an integrative ecosystem of virtual worlds offering immersive experiences to users, that modify pre-existing and create new value from economic, environmental, social and cultural perspectives".

ITU and UN Tourism co-published the 1st Executive briefing on the metaverse in 2023. It provides a concise overview of the technologies that underpin the metaverse, as well as the key challenges and opportunities.

Setting the standards

ITU-T Study Group 20 (SG20) is leading efforts to standardize the technologies underpinning the citiverse. These include IoT, digital twins, and advanced sensing systems critical for immersive experiences in cities and communities. SG20's work ensures that the citiverse operates within an interoperable, secure, and inclusive framework, fostering innovation while addressing privacy, security, and sustainability concerns.

Global collaboration and policy support

The 1st UN Virtual Worlds Day, hosted by ITU and supported by 17 UN agencies, has quickly emerged as a landmark event, showcasing the transformative potential of virtual worlds, while underscoring the importance of global collaboration.

Bringing together experts, policymakers, and industry leaders, the event highlighted innovative applications of virtual worlds across key sectors such as healthcare, education, urban planning, and entertainment. It also spotlighted the critical role these technologies play in advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The event underscored the need for strong cross-sector partnerships and inclusive policies to guide the development of the metaverse in a sustainable and equitable manner.

The resounding success of this inaugural event has established the UN Virtual Worlds Day as an annual tradition, reinforcing ITU's leadership in fostering innovation, inclusivity, and global cooperation in shaping the future of virtual worlds.

The 1st UN Metaverse Think-a-Thon, co-organized by ITU, the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), brought together 169 participants and 69 teams from over 10 countries to develop innovative solutions for smart sustainable cities and communities. Under the theme “Virtual Worlds Revolutionizing Smart Sustainable Cities and Communities," the Think-a-Thon showcased the transformative potential of the metaverse.

During the 1st UN Virtual Worlds Day on 14 June 2024 in Geneva, three standout teams were recognized for their groundbreaking contributions. Building on this momentum, the 2nd UN Metaverse Think-a-Thon is set to be an integral part of the 2025 UN Virtual Worlds Day, continuing to drive progress in leveraging virtual environments for urban innovation.

In tandem, ITU, in collaboration with UNICC and Digital Dubai, launched the ITU Global Initiative on Virtual Worlds – Discovering the Citiverse, a flagship programme introduced during the 1st UN Virtual Worlds Day. This initiative aims to harness virtual worlds to advance smart sustainable cities and communities by bridging digital and physical assets.

The citiverse envisions transformative applications in urban planning, predictive maintenance, and public service delivery, while prioritizing inclusivity and sustainability. By bringing together governments, industries, and international organizations, the initiative sets a collaborative foundation for shaping the future of urban development within virtual environments. 

Last updated: April 2025