Beijing to build Communist training college in a metaverse

China's top government officials have a new space to meet and "build the [Chinese Communist] Party": a custom-built metaverse. According to one of the bespoke metaverse's technology providers, virtual reality firm Mengke VR, the system will host virtual events like meetings, conferences, courses and history lectures. 3D …

[bombastic bob]

Virtual Reality Communism indoctrination theme park?

This gives "Social Credit Score" an entirely new meaning (and level of intrusive Big Brother-dom)

I imagine seeing Stepford smilers and dystopian imagery, everywhere.

Do not forget the subliminal brainwashing and use of music and flashy lights to condition "good comrade" behavior.

[this goes WAY beyond slapping lipstick on a boar, oinky end or not]

(the fine print in the VR thingy says: this session may be monitored for future reference)

[Anonymous Coward]

12+ million users on day one

"Of course it will officially be massively popular – regardless of how many actually use it"

<sarcasm>Particularly among the Uyghurs, I presume.</sarcasm>

[Rafael #872397]

Re: Of course it will officially be massively popular – regardless of how many actually use it

Are you talking about the third life metaverse or the communist playground on it?

[Khaptain]

L'eternelle fuite en avant.

What else did anyone actually imagine that "metaverses" would actually be used for other than a means of indoctrinating the users into Ideology [X].

If you can't get a grip of your current world then the idea of using an alternate one is really a very poor choice... I wonder what the parents will say about their children after having let them "peruse" the metaverses for a couple of years.....

[Inventor of the Marmite Laser]

Re: L'eternelle fuite en avant.

But Mummy it says so on <insert name of contemporaneously trendy metaverse platform> so it MUST be true.

Faecebook, Instaflame, Twatter, it goes on.

[codejunky]

Ha!

For when western school is not enough, indoctrinate through the metaverse!

[PhilipN]

Cross-Fertilisation

Trump <> CCP

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course!

> courses have titles like "A Hundred Years of Stories - Party History Micro Classroom"

"Stories" being the more correct term here, since "history" implies a certain level of factual accuracy which is generally absent from the official CCP narrative!

> and "The Great New Era – Major Achievements of the Party and the Country Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China".

For those wondering why this particular National Congress was singled out, this is the one which elected Xi Jinping as President Emperor "General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party".

I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.

> improves upon virtual reality through increased interaction of avatars, including with each other

Given reports of CCP officials' behaviour toward others, particularly women, this leaves me rather wary of the intent of these "improvements"!

[Decani]

Mandatory viewing option

The mind boggles; they could require all "citizens" to spend time in this metaprison to entertain (ahem) them to get social credit. Scary shit.

[Paul Herber]

what happens when people disappear from the metaverse?

Do they disappear in real-life too? And vice-versa?

I think we need a really good, solid definition of life.

[martinusher]

It won't be the first

Communism has its own share of creation myths, parables and other material. Its not that that different from a religion apart from it being grounded in a rational world. So I don't expect it to appeal to the typical ElReg reader, but then I wouldn't expect these readers to enthusiastically embrace similar offerings from religious groups.