Facebook founder and chairman Mark Zuckerberg announced Thursday that his company is no longer using its old corporate name, but is now called "Meta. The CEO's idea is to differentiate the parent company from all of its social networks and applications and to "encompass the vision of virtual reality for the future" - which he himself calls "metaverse."

However, Zuckerberg explained this change does not apply to his individual platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp, and that it would be better to "encompass" what he does as he extends his reach beyond social media into areas such as virtual reality (VR).

Mark Zuckerberg describes the metaverse as a "virtual environment" that people can enter, connect in a more realistic way with what is going on behind a screen, rather than just looking at it, among other familiar features.

"Over time, I hope we will be seen as a 'metaverse' company and I want to engage our work and our identity in what we are building," Zuckerberg said during a virtual conference call.

The company also unveiled a new logo - the infinity sign in blue - at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, which replaced the famous "Like" - the drawing of a closed hand with the thumb up.

In announcing the new name, the company also said it will change its stock code from FB to MVRS, effective December 1.