Facebook plans to create 10,000 jobs in the European Union over the next five years, as it attempts to build a digital world known as the metaverse.

According to Arab Net, the social media giant said it would hire highly skilled engineers in countries across the conglomerate, as the company focuses its recruitment drive on Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Poland, the Netherlands and Ireland.

Facebook's head of global affairs, Nick Clegg, and vice president of Central Products, Javier Oliván, wrote in a post: Our apps and tools are used every day, Europe is a big part of our success, with Facebook contributing to the success of European businesses and the broader economy.

The company's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, outlined his vision for the metaverse in July. The term is used to describe digital worlds in which multiple people can interact in a three-dimensional environment.

Facebook recently revealed what it called its first step into the metaverse world, launching a work collaboration app where people hold meetings in virtual reality.

In addition to Facebook, a number of other companies, including Microsoft, Roblox and Epic Games, are investing heavily in their own versions of the metaverse.

This comes at a time when Facebook is facing a barrage of attacks, after investigative investigations by the Wall Street Journal revealed the company's internal research into the negative impact of its Instagram application. on teenagers and exemptions for prominent individuals from its rules.

Earlier this month, Frances Haugen, who leaked the internal documents, testified at a US Congressional hearing. Haugen and another Facebook whistleblower, Sophie Zhang, are due to testify before the British Parliament this month.

EU lawmakers also called for Haugen to appear at a parliamentary hearing in November.