VIRTUAL SKIPPER 2 THE DEFI AREVA Virtual Skipper 2 holds the world license for "Le Défi- America's Cup" and includes in the French version of the game the DEFI AREVA, Fra 69, which will race in the America's Cup 2002-2003.   The DEFI AREVA was designed with one and only one objective in mind: Winning the America's Cup! This is a major, ambitious goal requiring that the top experts be brought together in a long-term project. Since August 2002, the full team has been together at its base in Auckland. The team members, with daily support from the partners and builders undertaking this daunting conquest, are working relentlessly with only one thing in mind: how to become stronger, more innovative, more efficient, and more successful each day. For more information, visit : www.ledefi.com   MELGES 24 Virtual Skipper 2 the Melges 24 in the game. In only a few years the Melges 24, a 7.5 m (24 ft.) ISAF international one-design boat with a displacement of only 800 kg (1800 lb), has set the standard for the best sport monohull. This “Formula 1 racer” of the seas, manned by a crew of four or five, reaches top speeds of over 20 knots thanks to its asymmetrical spinnaker and the use of carbon in its construction. Simple, modern outfitting of the superstructures makes the boat easy for even novice crews to use and maneuver and make it formidably efficient when racing head to head. Thanks to these characteristics and the organization of the class by a dynamic owners’ association, the world fleet exceeds 500 units and counts experienced champions from every area of sailing among the Melges circuit “regulars,” from sailors of large oceangoing multihulls to racers of Olympic dinghies. The championship list reads like a record book of holders of the most coveted titles for the past fifty years. The series has enjoyed very rapid development: the latest world championship brought together 15 countries and more than 120 crews. In France, since 2001, the Melges 24 has been the only keelboat series to participate in the French Olympic and competitive sailing championship sponsored by the French Sailing Federation, the largest in Europe with a fleet of 80 boats. For more information, visit : www.melges24.com