White mannequin mask, fiery red wig, voice disguised as the distortion: Laika (like the dog that was launched into space on Soviet Sputnik) has enlivened the walls of Rome in recent pandemic years ...

But the difference here, of course, is that, like Mark Zuckerberg's vision of the metaverse, Second Life is not a game. There are no gaming challenges or quests or storylines. It is just a place ...