Mark Zuckerberg: Virtual reality is the next platform

Virtual reality is the future of communication and socialising, Facebook's boss Mark Zuckerberg has said.

The billionaire founder of the popular social network said that the headset-based technology is "the next platform", during a surprise appearance at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

"At Facebook we think about giving people richer tools," he said.

Facebook, which bought virtual reality firm Oculus for two billion US dollars in 2014, has since partnered with Samsung to create the Gear VR headset, which can be bought for less than £100 and works by slotting a Samsung Galaxy smartphone into it to use as a screen.

Zuckerberg added:

During the press conference, Samsung unveiled its two new smartphones - the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge - using virtual reality, giving each attendee a Gear VR through which the new phones appeared in front of them for the first time.