Meta is the new name for Facebook.

As the social network company faces scrutiny over its business practices, Facebook has changed its name to Meta in a significant redesign.

The new name will better “encompass” what the company does currently, a nod to its aspirations to invest in virtual reality.

The company has stated that its long-term goal is to establish the Metaverse, an online world where individuals may work, play, and interact in a virtual environment utilizing virtual reality headsets.

“From now on, we’ll be more focused on the metaverse than on Facebook,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated on Thursday. “You won’t need to utilize Facebook to use our other services in the future.”

The corporation announced last week that it would hire 10,000 individuals in the European Union to help create its metaverse project. It will put $10 billion towards the project.

"We are known today as a social media company, but our DNA is a firm that produces technology to link people, and the metaverse is the next frontier, just as social networking was when we first started," Mr Zuckerberg added.

"We believe the metaverse will be the mobile internet's successor." We'll be able to feel present — as if we're standing right next to someone, no matter how far distant we are. We'll be able to express ourselves in new and exciting ways that are truly immersive."

The name change comes as the firm under scrutiny following the release of embarrassing documents by a former employee revealing that the company knew its brands, such as Instagram, had a harmful impact on young people but was more concerned about earnings.

Facebook, as it was known at the time, has always denied any wrongdoing. The business stated on Thursday that its "corporate structure will not change."

Following in the footsteps of Google, which established a holding company, Alphabet, in 2015, the redesign is expected to position the flagship app (Facebook) as one of multiple products under a parent business, Meta. In addition to Instagram and WhatsApp, Meta will serve as a holding company.

From December 1, the company's shares will trade under the ticker MVRS rather than FB. On Thursday, Meta's stock price increased by more than 3%.

According to CNBC, Mr Zuckerberg demonstrated the company's goals for the metaverse on Thursday.

Facebook, as it was known at the time, has always denied any wrongdoing. The business stated on Thursday that its "corporate structure will not change."

The demo featured a Pixar-style animation of software the corporation plans to develop in the future, according to the news organization. "Users may hang around in space as cartoon-like representations of themselves or imaginative figures, such as a robot, who represented their virtual selves, according to the demo. “Zuckerberg used part of it to accuse other tech firms of stifling innovation with high developer fees.”