Reality TV star Paris Hilton launches business in the metaverse

Paris Hilton has created an island in the online virtual world, dubbed Paris World. 

“For me, the metaverse is somewhere that you can do everything you can do in real life in the digital world,” said the US reality TV star Hilton, who worked to create aspects of her globe-trotting life for fans. 

She added, “Not everybody gets to experience that, so that’s what we’ve been working together on over the past year, giving them all my inspirations of what I want in that world.”

Visitors can explore digital replicas of her Beverly Hills estate and its dog mansion, stroll a boardwalk inspired by the neon carnival wedding celebration she and husband Carter Reum hosted earlier this year at the Santa Monica Pier in California, and explore the island in a luxury sports car or Sunray yacht.

Like other virtual hangouts, Paris World will collect small payments for purchasing virtual clothing or booking a ride on a jet-ski.

Hilton, 40, joins a clutch of celebrities and brands rushing to embrace the metaverse, a broad term referring to a persistent virtual world. 

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Metaverse attracting celebrities

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg popularised the term this year he renamed the company to Meta to emphasise the metaverse's central role to the company's future.

Brands such as Tommy Hilfiger brand launched a line of digital ready-to-wear fashion for Roblox avatars. Nike opened a virtual world called Nikeland in November, where visitors can play dodgeball with friends, lace on a pair of virtual Air Force 1 sneakers and win medals. 

Rappers Lil Nas X and Travis Scott have also held concerts last year for millions of virtual concertgoers.

For the socialite and reality TV-star turned entrepreneur, Paris World is the latest venture launched by her new media company, 11:11 Media. 

She and veteran media executive Bruce Gersh aim to capitalise on the burgeoning creator economy, in which celebrities like Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James leverage their influence to produce films, television shows and podcasts, brand marketing and to sell merchandise.

READ MORE: Introducing the next generation of the internet: the metaverse

Hilton has also tapped into the mania for non-fungible tokens, collaborating with designer Blake Kathryn to sell three unique pieces of digital art – one of which fetched in excess of $1.1 million, according to online auction platform Nifty Gateway. 

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