Which one of the following words/phrases is most appropriately used to denote "an interoperable network of 3D virtual worlds that can be accessed simultaneously by millions of users, who can exert property rights over virtual items"?

Answer: C. The phrase describes the METAVERSE. The Metaverse is a network of persistent, interoperable 3D virtual worlds accessed via VR/AR headsets or screens. Users have avatars, can exert property rights over virtual goods and digital assets (often via NFTs and blockchain ledgers), and engage in commerce, gaming and social activity across linked virtual spaces. The term was popularised by Neal Stephenson's novel Snow Crash (1992) and brought into mainstream business attention by Meta (Facebook) in 2021. Distractors fail: (A) Big data analytics is about extracting insights from large datasets, not a virtual world. (B) Cryptography is encryption technology, an enabling layer for metaverse property rights but not the metaverse itself. (D) Virtual matrix is not a standard term in industry. Source: World Economic Forum / MeitY Web3 framework documents.