In Neal Stephenson's “Snow Crash,” the virtual reality world is called the Metaverse.
Stephenson coined the term in his 1992 novel as a portmanteau of “meta” and “universe.” His Metaverse is a shared, immersive successor to the Internet where people interact through computer-generated avatars and software agents.
The setting appears as a vast urban environment built around the Street, a 100-meter-wide road that circles a black spherical planet. Users enter through personal VR terminals or public booths; public-terminal users appear as grainy, black-and-white avatars. Exclusive locations such as the Black Sun nightclub help establish social status inside the virtual world.
A common mix-up is The OASIS, the virtual world in Ernest Cline's Ready Player One. Second Life is a real online platform that was influenced by ideas associated with Snow Crash, while The Matrix is the simulated reality in the film franchise of the same name. Stephenson's concept later influenced virtual-world design, online gaming, and technology companies' use of “metaverse” as a general term.