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Viral metagenomics is the study of viral genetic material sourced directly from the environment rather than from a host or natural reservoir. The goal is to ascertain viral diversity in the environment that is often missed in studies targeting specific potential reservoirs. It reveals important information on virus evolution and the genetic diversity of the viral community without the need for isolating viral species and cultivating them in the laboratory. This approach has created improvements in molecular epidemiology and accelerated the discovery of novel viruses. Acknowledging the importance of viral metagenomics, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) recognizes that genomes assembled from metagenomic data represent actual viruses and encourages their official classification following the same procedures as those used for viruses isolated and characterized using classical virology approaches.