Abstract: DVENET（distributed virtual environment network） is a distributed virtual environment sponsored by National High Technology（863） Project. It includes a wide\|area network, a set of standards and toolkits, and some other resources （such as 3D terrain）, all of which can be used to run and/or develop distributed virtual environments in a wide range of fields. In fact, based on DVENET, a distributed virtual battlefield environment has been developed, which involves many existing man\|in\|the\|loop simulators and some virtual simulators developed by using virtual reality technology. In an exercise, hundreds of entities controlled by different nodes, which are distributed from different locations, can take part in and interact in a 110 km×150 km synthetic environment to support joint\|exercise among varieties of forces. The objectives, components, and features of DVENET are introduced in the paper.