The research project, funded under the PRIN 2022 scheme, investigates from a socio-cultural perspective the mainstream narratives of emerging virtual and augmented reality worlds based on the Metaverse project, announced by META CEO Mark Zuckerberg in October 2021. Starting from the literature and studies on virtual worlds and digital environments in media studies, STS, and social studies of techno-imaginaries, the project aims to trace and analyze mainstream narratives and discursive practices that co-construct the Metaverse as a technology and as a space of social interaction, analyzing the interpretations and activities of "early users" and platforms based in the Italian and in the Chinese contexts.