Thin films of V2O3 with thickness of 20-450 nm were grown on (0001) oriented sapphire substrates by reactive electron-beam evaporation. Low-energy electron diffraction, X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy studies show highly oriented grains with a lateral size of 50 to 800 nm, dependent on substrate temperature and deposition rate. The films were characterized by transmission measurements in the optical and infrared region, electrical resistance and Hall effect measurements. A variation of the growth parameters yields three different "types" of V2O3 films characterized by (i) a metal-insulator transition similar to bulk material (type 1), (ii) an insulator-metal followed by a metal-insulator transition (type 2) below room temperature and (iii) an insulator-insulator transition (type 3). The different types of V2O3 films mimic the behavior of chromium doped V2O3 with increasing Cr concentration. The c lattice parameter correlates with the electronic properties of the respective films, suggesting that this effect might be explained by a varying degree of strain in the films.