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Dubai Is Building A New Mall In The Metaverse
The virtual shopping center will set a new standard for immersive online shopping experiences.
The metaverse still feels like a distant and obscure concept for average consumers. However, for leading brands, this parallel digital universe is already worth investing in, and retailers are building out virtual stores as quickly as possible.
Retail group Majid Al Futtaim has taken metaverse retail to its next logical progression, unveiling the “Mall of the Metaverse” in Decentraland to compliment its brick-and-mortar outlet.
Customers will be able to engage with “immersive retail experiences” in the new virtual mall, where various brands, including Carrefour, VOX Cinemas, THAT Concept Store, Ghawali, and Samsung Store, will soon set up for business.
Khalifa bin Braik, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Asset Management, is confident that the Mall of the Metaverse “will become a prominent retail and entertainment destination for customers who seek digital experiences from their favorite brands.”
Meanwhile, Fatima Zada, the director of Omnichannel and Digital, Majid Al Futtaim Shopping Malls, notes an increase in demand for digital experiences, with his team using “behavioral science and data” to plan a retail future that eclipses simple online shopping.
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Dubai has already made significant progress in metaverse development, and last year, the Dubai Mall unveiled a digital version of its Etisalat store. These announcements collectively aid the city’s metaverse strategy, which hopes to create 40,000 jobs and bring $4 billion to the economy over the next five years.
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UAE Prepares To Launch Two Satellites: Thuraya-2 And MBZ-SAT
HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum chaired the first meeting of the Supreme Space Council yesterday.
HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, chaired the first meeting of the Supreme Space Council in Dubai on December 16, 2024. The session highlighted the UAE’s ambitious space plans and took stock of the sector’s economic progress.
The council emphasized the growing role of private companies in advancing space technologies, noting that their contributions are now equal to that of the public sector. Members also praised initiatives like the Space Economic Zones Programme, which are designed to fuel innovation and investment in the space industry.
خلال ترؤسنا الاجتماع الأول للمجلس الأعلى للفضاء، بحثنا الاستثمارات الوطنية والمشاريع المقبلة في قطاع الفضاء والذي يشهد تطوراً مستمراً… وجددنا التزامنا بدعم ومواصلة تنفيذ برامج طموحة لاستكشاف الفضاء الخارجي حيث وصل حجم الاستثمارات في هذا القطاع إلى 40 مليار درهم خلال السنوات… pic.twitter.com/etJ33OnuSu
— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) December 16, 2024
Discussing the UAE’s space journey, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum remarked, “The national space sector continues to grow and advance, and we take immense pride in the remarkable achievements we have accomplished over the years”.
Sheikh Hamdan also received updates on two upcoming satellite projects: Thuraya-2 and MBZ-SAT. Thuraya-2, developed by Space42, is slated for launch this December. Meanwhile, the MBZ-SAT, created by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), will soon follow. MBRSC, a major driver of the UAE National Space Programme, continues to lead the nation’s space-related developments.
Space42 took the opportunity to showcase its advancements, including ongoing collaborations between public and private entities. The company also outlined strategies to promote innovation, boost revenue streams, and create new opportunities for growth in the sector.
Also Read: IBM Opens New Doha Office To Support Qatar’s Digital Growth
The UAE’s current projects build on a growing legacy of space exploration. Back in 2020, the nation made headlines with its Mars mission, successfully sending a probe into the planet’s orbit in 2021. This mission, which is now in its second phase as of June 2024, has been collecting critical data to develop a comprehensive diurnal image of Mars.
The UAE also ventured into lunar exploration with an unmanned mission aimed at studying untouched regions of the Moon’s surface. While the probe ultimately crashed during its landing attempt after communication was lost seconds before touchdown, the effort represented a significant step in the country’s exploration ambitions.