1. To quote the manual, "dosemu" is a user-level program which uses certain special features of the Linux kernel and the 80386 processor to run MS-DOS/FreeDOS/DR-DOS in what we in the biz call a `DOS box.' The DOS box, a combination of hardware and software trickery, has these capabilities: the ability to virtualize all input/output and processor control instructions, the ability to support the word size and addressing modes of the iAPX86 processor family's "real mode," while still running within the full protected mode environment, the ability to trap all DOS and BIOS system calls and emulate such calls as are necessary for proper operation and good performance, the ability to simulate a hardware environment over which DOS programs are accustomed to having control, the ability to provide DOS services through native Linux services; for example, dosemu can provide a virtual hard disk drive which is actually a Linux directory hierarchy." From DOSEMU-HOWTO

2. The Linux DOS Emulator DOSEMU is a PC Emulator application that allows Linux to run a DOS operating system in a virtual x86 machine. This allows you to run many DOS applications. - Includes the FreeDOS kernel. - Color text and full keyboard emulation (via hotkeys) via terminal. - Built-in X support, includes IBM character set font. - Graphics capability at the console with most compatible video cards. - DPMI support so you can run DOOM. - CDROM support. - Builtin IPX and pktdrvr support. From Debian 3.0r0 APT