The Chinese Internet Giant Baidu does not expect to launch its XiRang metaverse app anytime soon, even though the app initially debuted on Monday, according to a senior executive.
Baidu Vice President Ma Jie believes “six years” to go until the full launch of XiRang, CNBC reported Thursday. Noted that development of the app started in December 2020.
Ma talked about “Create 2021”, Baidu’s upcoming annual developer event, which the company promotes as the first Chinese conference to be held in a metaverse space via XiRang. The app will reportedly allow up to 100,000 virtual members to interact with each other using avatars from the metaverse at the three-day conference starting Monday.
The executive pointed out that Baidu intends to create an open source platform targeting metaverse developers, providing a building infrastructure in the virtual world.
Despite focusing on digital infrastructure, Baidu’s metaversa application will not support digital currencies or commercial assets related to virtual property, Ma said. This is so even though XiRang uses underlying technologies similar to blockchain, he added. The plan is in line with the new cryptocurrency ban announced by China in September 2021.
One of the largest Internet search engine companies in China, Baidu officially joined the metaverse industry by registering the trademark “metapp” in October 2021. The company then launched its first metaverse application XiRang, translated as “Land of Hope” or Land of hope, and some of XiRang’s first virtuals have apparently been available to users since early November.
Baidu is not the only company in China to aggressively develop metaverse technology, as local giants such as Tencent and Alibaba have been working on their metaverse-related projects. At the beginning of November, The Chinese Institute of Contemporary International Relations, a think tank affiliated with China’s Ministry of State Security, officially warned of the metaverse’s risks to national security, citing possible political and social problems.
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