Saudi Arabia launches the virtual black stone feature, What is the story?

The General President of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque, Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Abdulaziz Al-Sudais, on Monday launched the Virtual Black Stone initiative, with the aim of using virtual reality and digital experiences to simulate the real reality.

The General President of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Abdulaziz Al-Sudais, announced on Monday the launch of the “Virtual Black Stone Initiative” with the aim of “using virtual reality and digital experiences that simulate real reality.”

The Virtual Black Stone (Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques)

And the Saudi Press Agency, SPA, quoted in a statement, Al-Sudais, stressing the importance of creating a virtual simulation environment to simulate the largest possible number of senses, such as vision, hearing, touch, even smell, in order to reach all the outcomes of the presidency that pertain to the Two Holy Mosques and what the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques is doing to all parts of the world through The virtual world, which simulates reality with clarity and honesty.

Pictures published by the account of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques on Twitter showed Al-Sudais wearing digital glasses and placing his hand on a model resembling the Black Stone.

Although the statement did not mention the details of the initiative, its mechanisms and how to implement it, it pointed out that the Two Holy Mosques "possess great religious and historical sites that must be digitized and communicated to everyone, in light of the capabilities and generous support provided by our wise leadership," he said.

The Virtual Black Stone (Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques)

The Saudi Press Agency, SPA, stated that virtual reality (VR) and digital experiences that simulate real reality will be used.

The launch of the initiative raised questions on social media about its purpose.