Virgin Atlantic is seeking lookalikes of Sir Richard Branson.

Virgin Atlantic, the airline branch of the Virgin business, has announced the start of a search to find the world’s best Sir Richard Branson lookalike – entrants to the competition could win a VIP trip to New York to celebrate the airline’s 25th birthday.

Sir Richard, Virgin founder and President of Virgin Atlantic, will also be embarking on an eight-day trip across the globe, to mark the launch of new Virgin round the world fares.

Passengers will be able to choose whether they fly east or west out of London’s Heathrow airport on a round the world ticket costing a special launch price of £1,239, including all taxes and charges.

Flying in an easterly direction, passengers will visit Hong Kong, Sydney, Los Angeles (LA) and then London. The reverse route is available to those who choose to fly west from London. The Sydney to LA service, and vice versa, will be with V Australia, the international airline of Virgin Blue which launches 27 February, 2009.

Sir Richard said: “Passengers now have a fantastic choice to make – which way to go round the world with Virgin! The combination of Virgin Atlantic and V Australia offers travellers huge flexibility in their global planning and some of the best value round the word fares available. The destinations are also some of the most exciting in the world.”

If you think you bear a resemblance to Sir Richard, visit Virgin’s Facebook page to find out how to apply: www.facebook.com/virginatlantic

Ticket prices are valid for departures between 25 February and 19 April 2009, and are available for sale until 6 March 2009.