Since Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) acquired Virtual Reality (VR) company Oculus VR, developer of the Oculus Rift VR headset, in 2014 for $2 billion, technology analysts and investors have been speculating on Facebook’s plans for next-generation, Oculus-powered VR.

Facebook is moving aggressively to make VR mainstream, and recently unveiled a lower-cost version of the Oculus Rift VR headset and new media partnerships that aim to bring Facebook VR technology to consumers.

During Facebook’s (FB) Q3 earnings call, the company’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that VR will have important applications beyond entertainment, including social communication and interaction. “That’s where Facebook has the DNA to build the best experiences,” said Zuckerberg. In fact, analysts have speculated about the possibility that Facebook could launch an Oculus-powered virtual world to take social networking to VR.

Now Facebook has released a first alpha version of a virtual world for Oculus Rift users. The Oculus Social alpha virtual world is open to users of the Samsung Gear VR headset, powered by a Samsung high-end smartphone like the Galaxy Note and Oculus Rift technology.

At this moment, Oculus Social is just a simple virtual theater to watch a movie in VR with friends, but the writing is on the wall. It seems evident that Facebook intends to add features to Oculus Social and transform it into a full-fledged virtual world.

Previous-generation virtual worlds like Second Life became very popular in the second half of the last decade, and generated considerable media hype as the “next big thing” in computing and social networking, but their popularity faded because they aren’t immersive enough on the one hand, and proved too complicated for average users on the other hand.

In fact, becoming proficient enough to enjoy Second Life presents a learning curve too long for consumers used to the quick and easy gratification provided by Facebook. But the fully immersive user interface provided by Oculus Rift technology promises to make virtual world much more engaging, and at the same time much easier to master.