Virtual pc help

Hello,

I was wondering if someone could help me. I'm running Windows 7 x64 Professional. I want to apply a virtual pc enviorment on my computer. I don't want to run another OS. I just want to use it to test script. I'm new to this and a little confused. Do I need to down load a virtual server and a virtual pc ( like vmware)? I would like to have a local host in this enviorment. Do I need to install xampp? Any Ideas or help is welcome. Thank you in advance