particle physics - What is the relationship between string net theory and string / M-theory?

I've just learned from this one of Prof. Wen's answers that there exists a theory called string net theory. Since I've never heard about this before it picks my curiosity, so I`d like to ask some questions:

How is string net theory related to the "usual" string /-M-theory framework? I mean if there is a relationship between them ...

Are the strings in string net theory and in string / M-theory the same?

What are the differences in the goals one wants to achieve or phenomena in nature one can describe with those two theories?

Answer

Goals one wants to achieve with those two theories are similar.

We know that superstring theory is a potential theory of everything. One may want to ask what is the difference between the string-net-liquid approach and the superstring approach? Our understanding of the superstring theory has been evolving. According to an early understanding of the superstring theory, all the elementary particles correspond to small segments of superstrings. Different vibration modes of a small superstring result in different types of elementary particles. This point of view is very different from that of the string-net liquid. According to the string-net picture, everything comes from simple qubits that form the space. No qubits no space. The "1" qubits form string-nets. The strings can be as long as the size of universe, which fill the whole space. Light (photons) correspond to the collective motion of the large string-nets and an electron corresponds to a single end of string. (See a picture of string-net "vaccum". See also a talk) A modern understanding of the superstring theory is still under development. According to Witten, one of the most important questions in superstring theory is to understand what is superstring. So at this time, it is impossible to compare the modern understanding of the superstring theory with the string-net theory. In particular it not clear if the superstring theory can be viewed as a local bosonic system (ie a qubit system). The string-net theory is fundamentally a local bosonic system (ie a qubit system).

So, if superstring theory is a qubit model (or a quantum spin model in condensed matter physics), then superstring theory and the string-net theory is the same, since the string-net theory is a qubit model (or a quantum spin model in condensed matter physics).