Guam is becoming popular with scuba divers who travel the world in search of new and exciting underwater experiences. The island's location at the edge of the 37,000-foot-deep Marianas Trench affords a treasure chest of opportunities for divers of all skill levels, from beginners to the most advanced.

The waters surrounding Guam contain more than 350 types of hard coral, 1,000 varieties of mollusks and 900 kinds of marine life, including moray eels, sea turtles, pilot whales and dolphins. Underwater visibility is up to 150 feet from December to May, the best months to explore the seas of Guam. The water temperature averages a comfortable 85 degrees.

Divers may choose from a wide array of both beach and boat dives. At Dogleg Reef, for example, a very easy beach dive, beginners will find a variety of coral as well as sunken trucks and jeeps from World War II. The American Tanker, a World War II transport barge, provides a superb introduction to wreck-diving for those who have never tried it before. Shark's Pit, a beginning boat dive, serves as the resting place of World War II military tanks and other equipment, and also attracts small reef sharks. Another easy boat dive, Barracuda Rock, has a cave with a 40-foot tunnel for snorkeling. At Finger Reef, beginners can swim with thousands of small reef fish, and at Cocos Island Lagoon they will encounter many schools of tropical fish, miniature octopus and pods of Pacific Spinner dolphins year-round.

Advanced divers have a choice of wrecks to explore, including the Kitsugawa Maru, a coal-fired, steam-driven ship that is fully intact. Intermediate to advanced divers can also explore the SMS Cormoran, a 335-foot World War I German auxiliary cruiser which requires dives at depths of 70 to 125 feet, and the Tokai Maru, a Japanese freighter torpedoed in 1943. This is the only place in the world with World War I and World War II wrecks side by side.

The Blue Hole, the ultimate underwater attraction in Guam, requires advanced skills. This vertical chimney begins at 60 feet below the surface and empties into the face of a vertical wall 125 feet deep. Located off the south side of Orote Peninsula, the Blue Hole has a large opening in the plateau that allows divers to exit the hole, or to watch schools of sea turtles and leopard rays swim by. Nearby is the Crevice, a V-shaped undersea canyon with giant rock formations.

The island has several dive operators providing retail dive centers offering dive boat charter services, training facilities and dive equipment for sale. These companies can arrange lessons and diving excursions upon your arrival. Additional information about diving in Guam and the other islands of Micronesia, is available from the following companies:

MAINLAND OUTLETS/OUTLETS ON-ISLAND

-World of Diving and Adventure Vacations Phone (800) 945-9955 Fax (310) 322-5111 Email will@destmic.com www.destmic.com

-Trip n' Tour Micronesia Phone (800) 348-0842 Fax (760) 451-1000 Email info@trip-n-tour.com

-Micronesian Divers Association, Inc. (MDA) Phone (671) 472-6321 Fax (671) 477-6329 Email mda@mdaguam.com www.mdaguam.com -Guam Tropical Dive Station Phone (671) 477-2774 Fax (671) 477-2775 Email gtds@ite.net www.trip-n-tour.com www.gtds.com Guam also has the largest recompression chamber in the Western Pacific. It is operated by the U.S. Navy and has staff on duty around the clock.

ABOUT GUAM Situated in the Western Pacific, approximately 3,800 miles west of Hawaii and 1,550 miles south of Japan, Guam offers beautiful and isolated beaches, world-class diving and snorkeling, and a variety of cultural and historical sites, activities and events. Its geographic location makes Guam the gateway to Micronesia and, with excellent air service to cities throughout Asia, a convenient stop-over point for trans-Pacific travelers. Guam has more than a dozen luxury resorts and an equally diverse selection of moderately priced hotels.

More information about Guam, its hotels and attractions can be obtained by contacting the North American Office of the Guam Visitors Bureau, 1301 Marina Village Parkway, Suite 210, Alameda, Calif. 94501, (800) 873-4826/(800-US-3-GUAM), or e-mail guam@avisoinc.com. Or, visit the Guam Web site at www.visitguam.org.

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For media information contact: Dianne Newton-Shaw Guam Visitors Bureau (800) 873-4826 (9 a.m. - 5 p.m. PT) di@avisoinc.com