SK Telecom (SKT) revealed its Ifland metaverse platform racked up 8.7 million downloads in its first year in operation, as it aims to take the service to more markets after developing an English version in June.

In a translated statement, the South Korean operator explained it is looking to partner with operators in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia, with plans to release Ifland sequentially in the second half of 2022.

“We are currently discussing ways to discover content in each region and jointly promote marketing for customers with major telecommunication companies”, SKT stated.

The operator plans to add a range of functions in the current quarter to enhance user participation, with Ifland 2.0 introducing an open 3D content platform allowing users to sell items they design and produce, and awarding loyalty points.

SKT noted downloads of the social metaverse app had increased from 2.9 million at end-December 2021 and it had received 2,000 inquiries from third-parties about partnerships.

Despite the country lifting most social distancing rules in late April, SKT noted Ifland users spent 61 minutes on the platform per month, up nearly 11 per cent from end-March.

In early May, SKT partnered with Deutsche Telekom to launch Ifland in Germany.