Facebook announces its new futuristic name

The company Facebook has announced its new name change in a bid to re-brand the company and diverge it from being known as just a social media platform.

Speaking at his companies Facebook Connect conference on Thursday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed the new name, Meta.

Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat will still operate as normal, keeping their names, but the CEO say he hopes for these apps to become part of the new metaverse parent company that will encompass more than just social media.

Metaverse, also know as the virtual world, is something Mr. Zuckerberg sees as the future of technology and believes it to be the "successor of the internet".

Hoping to lead the way with this futuristic technology, Zuckerberg said gaming will be at the forefront and it will be a lot of people's first steps into this 'metaverse' through virtual reality (VR) headsets.

Like something we have only seen in science fiction movies, the CEO believes he can reach a billion users within a decade with his new technology that will see users immersed into a virtual world where exercising, gaming and even choosing a new outfit will become second nature.

Speaking at the event he said:

"With all the scrutiny and public debate, some of you may be wondering why we're doing this right now.

"The answer is that I believe that we are out on this earth to create. I believe that technology can make our lives better. And I believe the future won't be built on its own."

However, the new re-branding plan has caused some backlash, with many saying this is just a distraction from it's on going news reports and complaints from whistleblowers that the company has been mishandling users safety through its persistent algorithms and content that could be deemed harmful.

Last week, Zuckerberg announced plans to employ over 10,000 people across the EU to help make his plans a "reality".