Facebook Inc. plans to hire 10,000 employees in the EU within the next five years to build its so-called "metaverse." The social media giant announced its plans on Monday.

The planned "metaverse" is a nascent online world where people exist and communicate in shared virtual spaces.

Mark Zuckerberg has been touting this in recent months and has said this would be a significant step in taking the company forward. 

In September, Facebook committed $50 million to the development of the metaverse, in which firms such as Roblox Corp (RBLX.N) and "Fortnite" creator Epic Games have a strong presence.

Previously, the firm tested a new virtual-reality remote work program in which users of the company's Oculus Quest 2 headsets could attend meetings as avatar versions of themselves.

Facebook also announced in July that it was forming a product team to work on the metaverse as part of Facebook Reality Labs, its augmented reality and virtual reality division.

"This investment (in new jobs) is a vote of confidence in the strength of the European tech industry and the potential of European tech talent," the company said.

"Europe is hugely important to Facebook."