Metaverse is an evolving orchestrator of the next-generation Internet architecture that produces an immersive and self-adapting virtual world in which humans perform activities similar to those in the real world, such as playing sports, doing work, and socializing. It is becoming a reality and is driven by ever-evolving advanced technologies such as extended reality, artificial intelligence, and blockchain. In this context, Metaverse will play an essential role in developing smart cities, which becomes more evident in the post-COVID-19-pandemic metropolitan setting. However, the new paradigm imposes new challenges, such as developing novel privacy and security threats that can emerge in the digital Metaverse ecosystem. Moreover, it requires the convergence of several media types with the capability to quickly process massive amounts of data to keep the residents safe and well-informed, which can raise issues related to scalability and interoperability. In light of this, this research study aims to review the literature on the state of the art of integrating the Metaverse architecture concepts in smart cities. First, this paper presents the theoretical architecture of Metaverse and discusses international companies’ interest in this emerging technology. It also examines the notion of Metaverse relevant to virtual reality, identifies the prevalent threats, and determines the importance of communication infrastructure in information gathering for efficient Metaverse operation. Next, the notion of blockchain technologies is discussed regarding privacy preservation and how it can provide tamper-proof content sharing among Metaverse users. Finally, the application of distributed Metaverse for social good is highlighted. Most importantly, the paper explores the reflections of this cutting-edge technology on the smart city, talks about the role and impact of the Metaverse in the production of urban policies, and eventually identifies the research gaps and the future research directions in this domain.

中文翻译：

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元界通信、网络、安全和应用：研究问题、最新技术和未来方向


Metaverse 是下一代互联网架构的不断发展的编排者，它产生了一个身临其境、自适应的虚拟世界，人类在其中进行与现实世界类似的活动，例如运动、工作和社交。它正在成为现实，并由不断发展的先进技术（例如扩展现实、人工智能和区块链）驱动。在此背景下，Metaverse将在发展智慧城市方面发挥重要作用，这一点在后COVID-19大流行的大都市环境中变得更加明显。然而，新范式带来了新的挑战，例如数字元界生态系统中可能出现的新型隐私和安全威胁。此外，它需要多种媒体类型的融合，并具有快速处理大量数据的能力，以保证居民的安全和信息灵通，这可能会引发与可扩展性和互操作性相关的问题。有鉴于此，本研究旨在回顾有关在智慧城市中整合元宇宙建筑概念的最新文献。首先，本文介绍了元界的理论架构，并讨论了国际公司对这一新兴技术的兴趣。它还研究了与虚拟现实相关的元宇宙概念，识别了普遍的威胁，并确定了通信基础设施在信息收集中对于有效元宇宙操作的重要性。接下来，讨论区块链技术关于隐私保护的概念以及它如何在元界用户之间提供防篡改的内容共享。最后，强调了分布式元宇宙在社会公益方面的应用。 最重要的是，论文探讨了这一前沿技术对智慧城市的体现，探讨了元宇宙在城市政策生产中的作用和影响，并最终明确了该领域的研究空白和未来的研究方向。