1 The virtual university: challenge of the third millennium Abdelfattah BARHDADI Groupe de l'Action Pédagogique (GAP) Laboratoire de Physique des Semi-conducteurs et de l’Energie Solaire (P.S.E.S.) Ecole Normale Supérieure of Rabat, P.O.Box: 5118, Rabat Phone: (+212) 37 75 12 29 / 37 75 22 61, GSM: (+212) 64 93 68 15, Fax: (+212) 37 75 00 47. Kingdom of Morocco e-mails: abdelbar@fsr.ac.ma OR barhdadi@ens-rabat.ac.ma Abstract: - Virtual universities have been created a little everywhere in the world. They suppose and adopt a new manner of learning and of teaching, a new educational model and organization. In this paper, we discuss the problematic topic of the virtual university and the significances to give to this new concept. We also provide some key elements of reflection and practical experience to guide the installation and the development of virtual university as a central point of expansion policy of the use of the new media in the high education system. Key Words: - Virtual university- e-learning, numerical technologies, computerized network, education system, distance training and teaching. 1 Introduction Since ten years, the planet covers multiple satellite networks devoted to the teaching whose interconnection in progress will constitute soon another world network in complementarily with that of Internet [1-4]. Transcending the constraints of space and time, technologies of the communication reduce the terrestrial sphere to dimensions of a village. They upset the modes of training and teaching, as much as the modes of production and life in society, this inducing a true civilisation change of humanity. The numerical technologies theoretically conceal educational potentialities without limits, making the objective of teaching more realizable for all, throughout for life, which the society of communication in emergence implies. Arriving at saturation, the traditional systems of teaching and training cannot follow the explosive rhythm of the increasing request of high education at the younger generation. They cannot answer either on the qualitative and quantitative levels the extent and the diversity of the needs for continuous training at the working population. These needs are in the process of generalization under the effect of the scientific and technical progress acceleration, which returns the duration of nullity (more and more of qualifications more short). The new means of communication spread teaching beyond the closed field of the classroom towards all social spaces, decreasing at a marginal cost the best teaching messages and putting them constantly at the range learning and in any place from planet [5]. Becoming accessible for the majority of the countries in the process of development by the continuous fall of their cost, information technologies represent for the systems of these one the single solution to mitigate a crippling deficit their human and material resources in order at the aim of their levelling and the development of their capacity of reception. The computerized networks are became an obliged ways to reach at the brought up to date knowledge and to transmit this knowledge. The university professors or teachers could not, at the risk of being disqualified, to do without computer and the connection to the international sources of knowledge. The integration of information technologies in the educational systems as well presentials as remotely defines the educational systems challenge of the beginning of this third millennium. The educational challenge is in the contemporary society of knowledge in the heart of all the societies stakes. It is in particular by the effectiveness of its education system to form competitive human resources that a country can conquer its place in a world economy, and based on the immaterial production and exchanges, and the production this ensuring in that way. So, no country can turn the back to the educational revolution in progress without marginalized and be condemned to poverty and the dependence.