At Joomla version 3.0.3 it is now recommended "most" new installs.
Joomla 2.5 users are encouraged to wait until Joomla 3.5 before upgrading.
Joomla 2.5 also has more extensions available and is possibly more secure at this point.
Even though Joomla.org recommends version 3 for new installs now, it's quite alright and possibly advantageous to install 2.5 and wait for 3.5 to arrive.
