These touch-sensitive full-body suits vibrate in response to virtual stimuli, reacting when users' characters bump into a wall or receive a punch, for example. "They cannot tout the realism of these virtual worlds and then deny or downplay that ugly things that happen in them have some of the unfortunate downstream effects of real behavior. On Instagram, in response to a New York Post article about the incident, users joked the assailants who harassed the girl online should be sent to "virtual jail." Sexual harassment on 'Horizon Worlds'Claims like the British girl's are not unheard of, with multiple accounts of virtual sexual harassment stemming from Meta's "Horizon Worlds" VR game — though it remains unclear if the incident took place inside Meta's game or another VR world. "This is a critical area that demands immediate attention to ensure the Metaverse is a safe and positive space for young users."

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Persons: Donna Jones, Katherine Cross, they're, James, Nina Jane Patel, Patel, Graeme Biggar Organizations: Service, Daily, Business, Daily Mail, Association of Police, Crime, BBC, University of Washington, New York, LBC, Meta, BI, Crime Agency Locations: cybercrime