A beta tester for Meta's metaverse virtual reality platform Horizon Worlds says she was virtually groped in what may be the first allegation of its kind.

Meta revealed the allegation on Dec. 1, saying the alleged act occurred on Nov. 26. The woman reported the groping in a Facebook group associated with the beta test.

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“Sexual harassment is no joke on the regular internet, but being in VR adds another layer that makes the event more intense,” she wrote, the Verge reports. “Not only was I groped last night, but there were other people there who supported this behavior which made me feel isolated in the Plaza.” The "Plaza" is a virtual social hub within the metaverse.

Vivek Sharma, Meta’s vice president of Horizon, called the incident "absolutely unfortunate." Meta reviewed the incident and says that the woman did not use certain built-in safety features, including the ability to block users.

“That’s good feedback still for us because I want to make [the blocking feature] trivially easy and findable,” he said.

Meta has made access to the Horizon Worlds metaverse free for everyone 18 and up in the United States and Canada, according to a Dec. 9 press release.

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Just as the internet became a setting of sexual harassment and abuse, it is foreseeable that the metaverse could follow suit. Some 25% of Americans say they have experienced some form of online harassment, including sexual harassment, stalking, and physical threats, a number up from 15% in 2014, according to Pew Research Center.