How Web of Worlds, X3D/Web3D, and the Metaverse Standards Forum Tie Together

Author(s): 
Anita Havele
Release Date: 
12 July 2026

How Web of Worlds, X3D/Web3D, and the Metaverse Standards Forum Tie Together

Web of Worlds sets the spatial ‑ web vision, X3D/Web3D provides the open 3D standard to build it, and the Metaverse Standards Forum coordinates the broader ecosystem so everything interoperates across platforms and industries. 

Web of Worlds (WoW)  imagines the internet as a spatial, interconnected environment—where pages become places, links become portals, and information becomes navigable 3D space. 

A platform made up of many addressable, linked spatial experiences (i.e., virtual worlds) that are interconnected. Much like how today’s websites form the open World Wide Web. WoW supports several registered asset standards in the spatial composition graph: X3D, glTF, JT, OpenUSD

To make that vision real, it relies on two pillars:

Web3D Consortium development of X3D/HAnim - the open ISO standards for 3D

  • X3D is the ISO‑standard 3D format for the web.

  • Web3D Consortium ensures interoperability, longevity, and open.

  • This layer defines how 3D content is represented in a durable, engine‑agnostic way.

 Metaverse Standards Forum - the coordination layer

  • MSF brings together companies, researchers, and standards bodies to align 3D, XR, and interoperability efforts.

  • It connects Web3D Consortium and X3D with other SDOs and standards like glTF, USD, and identity frameworks.

  • This coordination ensures the ecosystem works together rather than in silos.

How Web of Worlds, X3D/Web3D, and the Metaverse Standards Forum Tie Together

How Web of Worlds and X3D/Web3D work together: X3D Web of Worlds Profile

 

The X3D Web of Worlds Profile is the minimal viable foundation for a standards‑based, interoperable spatial ecosystem. It selects a focused set of nodes from Grouping, Core, Networking, Navigation, and Geospatial components to support:

  • Lightweight, linkable 3D documents
  • Semantic metadata integration
  • Spatial navigation and viewpoint control
  • Real‑world geospatial alignment
  • Open, interoperable 3D content for the emerging Web of Worlds

X3D 4.1 WoW Profile: a base set of scene graph nodes can meet WoW requirements, including the following specific nodes and components:

X3D Components

X3D Nodes

Grouping 

Structural Scene Backbone

Provide predictable, efficient structure for lightweight 3D scene graphs 

that essentially create 3D documents.
  • Transform
  • Group
  • StaticGroup
  • LOD, Switch, Billboard, etc.
 

Core

Semantic Metadata Layer

Enable semantic search, interoperability, and preservation

MetadataSet

Metadata*  (all types)

Supports

  • Ontologies
  • Schema
  •  Universal Manifest

Networking

Linking & Modular Composition

Create a navigable graph of 3D scenes, enabling spatial browsing
  • Anchor (3D hyperlinks)
  • Inline (external scenes)
  • InlineGeometry (external meshes)
 
 

Navigation 
  • Viewpoint
  • OrthoViewpoint
  • NavigationInfo
 

Geospatial

Real‑World Alignment & GIS

Supports Earth‑anchored content
  • GeoOrigin
  • GeoLocation
  • GeoViewpoint
  • GeoTileSet
  • Additional geospatial nodes
 

Humanoid Animation (HAnim)

Avatars and characters

 
 Full support of HAnim component

Profile Purpose

The essence of an X3D Profile is the combination of various X3D nodes and components necessary to meet  a well-defined set of use cases. The functional requirements of WoW can be met by adding corresponding descriptions to the X3D Spec, including the base set of WoW supported nodes (above). 

Threedy.io and Virginia Tech are implementing these use cases using the WoW API, using the X3D WoW Profile.

To specify a lightweight, browser‑friendly subset of X3D that supports:

  • Spatial navigation between linked 3D “web places”
  • Declarative scenes that load instantly
  • Interoperable assets (glTF, X3D, WebGL pipelines)
  • Longevity and preservation
  • Integration with broader metaverse standards (ISO, Khronos, OGC, W3C )

Key Capabilities (Typical Profile Elements)

  • Geometry + Appearance: Core shapes, meshes, materials
  • Navigation + Viewpoints: Spatial linking, portals, anchors
  • Interactivity: Sensors, events, simple scripting
  • Metadata: Semantic tagging for search
  • Interchange: glTF integration, WebGL compatibility
  • Security + Privacy

Ecosystem Alignment

  • Web3D Consortium: Maintains the profile, ensures ISO alignment
  • Metaverse Standards Forum (MSF): Coordinates interoperability with glTF, USD and XR frameworks and SDOs
  • Web of Worlds: Provides the conceptual and experiential layer the profile enables
  • World Wide Web Consortium:  Open Web Platform (OWP) collection of Web standards
  • Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF): necessary networking standards
  • International Standards Organization (ISO): growing set of related standards for the Metaverse

WoW White Paper - This whitepaper introduces the concept of a “Web of Worlds” – a platform made up of many addressable, linked spatial experiences (i.e., virtual worlds) that are interconnected. Much like how today’s websites form the open World Wide Web. WoW supports several registered standards: X3D, glTF, JT,  OpenUSD…