You can get the os.arch property:
String osArch = System.getProperty("os.arch");
This will tell you the architecture of the OS, so not exactly the one of the VM.
Sun's JREs have the following properties (values from my machine) that may be useful:
sun.arch.data.model : 32
sun.cpu.isalist : pentium_pro+mmx pentium_pro pentium+mmx pentium i486 i386 i86
But have in mind that these will not work on VMs from other vendors. So you may want to find such properties of other VMs as well, so that you are not vendor-dependent.