Virtualization - Windows XP running in a VMware virtual machine on Linux

A simple way to think of virtualization is to think of the simulation of a computer. Consider a computer system that runs Windows on an Intel processor. You can install virtualization software, called a virtual machine, that simulates a whole computer within Windows. The virtual computer has virtual hardware: simulated keyboards, hard drives, monitors, and so on. A virtual monitor can be displayed in a Window or fullscreen, virtual hard drives can be stored as files, and these can even be made to resize automatically and not take up any more space than is necessary. The virtual machine routes input to the virtual environment when it has focus, so the same keyboard and mouse that is used to control your computer can be used to control the virtual machine