The Microsoft Metaverse has arrived.

Microsoft is now joining the Metaverse war by bringing the metaverse into the workplace. Users of the US software giant’s Teams collaboration software will be able to appear in video meetings as avatars or animated cartoons in the first half of next year, according to the company. Remote workers will also be able to visit virtual work spaces, which will eventually include replicas of their employers’ offices, using their avatars.

This is part of a larger effort to integrate the company’s mixed reality and HoloLens work with open meetings and video calls. Microsoft’s strategy is based on Mesh, an underlying technology that the company unveiled earlier this year to handle far more complex virtual interactions on various types of hardware ranging from PCs to virtual reality headsets. After months of people working from home and adjusting to hybrid work, Microsoft is building on efforts like Together Mode and other experiments to make meetings more interactive.

By enabling avatars within Teams, Microsoft sees its Teams product as a critical tool for introducing the metaverse at work. Microsoft’s collaboration product has evolved into the software through which many employees communicate with coworkers and gain access to Microsoft’s broader set of productivity tools. The company stated that it would integrate its other productivity software into its new virtual experiences, allowing employees to view PowerPoint presentations in the metaverse.

Microsoft will listen to your voice and then animate your avatar using Artificial Intelligence (AI). If you switch to a more immersive 3D meeting, these animations will also include raising your avatar’s hands when you select the raise hand option, as well as animating emoji around your avatar. Microsoft envisions virtual spaces within Teams where people can network and socialize through games, as well as collaborate on projects using Microsoft apps. This move by Microsoft will hasten efforts to build the metaverse because Meta (formerly known as Facebook) will feel compelled to maintain its leadership position.