Book excerpt: METAVERSE AND IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGIES The book covers the multidimensional perspectives of the metaverse through the prism of virtual reality, augmented reality, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and IoT, ranging from rudimentary to advanced applications. This book provides a thorough explanation of how the technology behind metaverse and other virtual reality technologies are changing the world. The primary objective is to present the revolutionary innovation of the 21st century—the metaverse—and exhibit its wide range of applications in different domains. Although blockchain and VR/AR were the first popularly known applications of the metaverse, several other applications also exist. While some still believe the metaverse is overhyped, in reality, it is transforming almost every industry—healthcare, 3D, 4D, industry, game industry, business management, artificial intelligence, and IoT, just to name a few. This technological breakthrough not only paved the way for virtual reality but also provided useful solutions for other areas of technology. The unique nature of the technology, which is a single, shared, immersive, persistent, 3D virtual space where humans experience life in ways not possible in the physical world, makes it suitable for all real-world applications; it has great potential to transform business, and companies are already in the race for different product offerings. Audience AI and computer science researchers, engineers and graduate students, IT personnel in business as well as entrepreneurs and policymakers.