With the probable demise of the Prada AC program and with the merger rumors about Team NZ and Mascalzone, there is some dock talk concerning a new Italian effort.

According to Italian sports' daily "Gazzetta dello Sport", the Italian businessman Gualtiero Pantani has bought one of the 2002 Stars & Stripes and want to recruit Poland’s match racing ace Karol Jablonski as skipper.

Rumors suggesting Jablonski may be re-thinking his participation in the Polish challenge but have been refuted by later reports.

Gualtieron Pantani, however, denies the information published by the Italian sports' daily and says he is just involved in a group of businessmen who are planning to launch a new Italian bid for 2007.

The group hasn't officially announced a campaign yet. Pantani says they're in the feasibility stage, exploring whether it would be worthwhile to challenge.