# Exploring the Key Characteristics and Theoretical Framework for Research on the Metaverse
## 4 Theoretical Framework for Metaverse Research
### Virtual-Real Combination Rules  
The focus of the Metaverse is not only to build virtual worlds but also to build digital spaces that combine virtual and reality. Essentially, the Metaverse design originates from the need for interaction between the actual real world and the virtual digital world, and the rule of combining the virtual and the real is essential. According to this rule, only real-world universes are not Metaverse, only virtual-world universes are not Metaverse, and only universes where real and virtual worlds coexist and interact will soon be judged as Metaverse. Therefore, this rule becomes the basis for determining whether a universe is a Metaverse. This rule also defines the essence of the Metaverse, an ontological law [36].  
Metaverse is an Internet form with the collection of Internet technology, information technology, and digital technology, and it is also an application form with the integration of network and computing technology, Internet of Things technology, blockchain technology, artificial intelligence technology, virtual simulation technology, and interactive experience technology [12]. Each of the above techniques is permeated with a combination of natural and virtual elements.  
Among them, network and computing technologies can achieve a high speed of network transmission and increased computing power of network computing, realizing the need for a large number of users, in reality, to be online at the same time and to access the Internet scenario as they wish, at any time and quickly and to be able to provide more accurate network algorithms for the real-world participants in the Internet; Internet of Things technology can realize the mutual construction and link between real space and virtual space, providing intelligent identification, positioning, tracking, supervision and other roles and guarantees for commercial activities [37].  
Blockchain technology, based on its advantages of decentralization, traceability, and smart contracts, enables the security and efficiency of transactional activities in interconnected networks; artificial intelligence technologies not only allow human-like virtual spaces and scenarios but also provide real-world simulations of trading activities, extend human intelligence, and thus accurately match the relevant needs of trading subjects; virtual simulation technology can virtualize physical space scenes into cyberspace, which can be simulated according to the behavior and needs of cyberspace, weakening the disadvantages of virtuality. Interaction technology enables the connection and interaction between the natural world and the online world and the relationship between humans and machines.  
The convergence and interweaving of these Metaverse technologies, which even produce superposition and qualitative changes, can map various behaviors, information, and objects from the physical world to the cyber world and simulate scenes and activities from the cyber world to the physical world. It also enables the connection and interaction between various activities in the cyber world and the physical world. For example, cross-border e-commerce relies on the Internet to link and interact with information, goods, and activities in the physical and virtual worlds through a network platform, which makes the value chain of cross-border e-commerce activities longer, the network of activities more extensive, the related subjects more numerous and the environment more complex, and is influenced by the network environment and technology, generating more and more complex risks and problems with a deeper degree of impact.  
Therefore, the Metaverse applies to cross-border e-commerce activities, and it is technically feasible to fuse the virtual Metaverse space with the practical activities of cross-border e-commerce. The Metaverse is based on the real world for virtual simulation and can realistically map the real world by constructing virtual worlds and scenarios. This feature can be effectively applied to various realistic fields [38; 39].