The U.K.'s newly formed Department of Science, Innovation and Technology will advance the country's metaverse and Web3 strategy, an individual familiar with the matter not authorized to speak publicly told CoinDesk.

The country’s 2023 Spring Budget, released in March, said the government wanted to “lead on the future of web technology, sometimes known as Web3 or the metaverse.” The new tech department, set up in February, will lead the charge in this work. The department’s work will not focus on specific technologies like blockchain and virtual reality but will instead look at potential economic growth opportunities, investment and business models associated with concepts including the Metaverse and Web3, along with implications for regulation, according to the source.

The metaverse, which is a collection of virtual worlds where people can buy and sell things, was described as a $13 trillion dollar opportunity by investment bank Citigroup. Meta – formerly known as Facebook – dove into the sector, shifting much of its operations to focus on building the metaverse, though the recent crypto winter has put a damper on its growth.

(By Camomile Shumba)