What it's actually like to hang out in Facebook Spaces

Virtual reality seems cool, but what can you actually do when you're in it?

Quite a lot, it turns out.

On April 18, Facebook released a social VR experience called Facebook Spaces. Paired with an Oculus Rift, Spaces allows users to hang out with friends in a 360-degree virtual reality world and share 3D videos and experiences.

Unfortunately for anyone wanting to play around in this digital paradise, however, there's a pretty hefty entrance fee. A Rift and corresponding touch controllers will set you back around US$600 (S$839), and that doesn't even include the powerful, expensive computer required to run the thing.

Fortunately for us, Mashable's Sam Sheffer took Spaces for a spin. His experience playing around in the digital world provides a glimpse into the technology that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says allows users to "teleport anywhere and do anything"

Sheffer begins the tour by showing off Spaces' control panel, which is situated in front of the user and on top of what looks like a circular blue table. The panel allows him to navigate through his personal Facebook account and then immerse himself right in the centre of a friend's 3D video.

He next jumps to the Explore tab, which loads pre-packed scenes from content producers like BBC Earth. The beach he visits is beautiful.

As far as Sheffer is concerned, his body is represented by a customizable virtual avatar. We get a good look at his avatar when he pulls out a VR mirror - and later when he takes a picture with a selfie stick.

Because yes, even in a land composed entirely of ones and zeros, the selfie stick reigns supreme.

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