1. A computer system for navigating a virtual environment, the computer system comprising: a computer; a display device connected to the computer; one or more input devices connected to the computer; and a computer program executing on the computer, wherein the computer program comprises computer instructions for: generating a virtual environment from a real environment, the virtual environment comprising a plurality of nodes connected by branches, wherein each node represents an intersection in the real environment and each branch represents a path connecting intersections in the real environment; displaying a map of at least a portion of the nodes and branches of the virtual environment in a first window of the display device; displaying a visual representation of the virtual environment in a second window of the display device; and enabling a user to navigate through the virtual environment by entering navigation commands via at least one input device.