Tuvalu's foreign minister Simon Kofe has revealed the nation's plans to build a digital twin of the country and upload it to the metaverse, an interoperable online platform that relies on augmented and virtual reality (VR) to help users interact. 

The announcement - made at the Cop27 climate summit - aims to preserve Tuvalu's history and culture before the nation is submerged underwater. 

"As our land disappears, we have no choice but to become the world’s first digital nation," said Tuvalu's foreign minister Simon Kofe in a speech given at the climate summit, delivered against the backdrop of a digital island.

"Our land, our ocean, our culture are the most precious assets of our people - and to keep them safe from harm, no matter what happens in the physical world, we'll move them to the cloud."

Tuvalu is an archipelago consisting of nine islands located between Australia and Hawaii, with a population of approximately...