Abstract: A method of updating a digital road map which contains spatially resolved description values of at least one mapped environmental characteristic for at least one mapped road. A virtual journey along the at least one mapped road may be simulated, on basis of the road map to be updated, by a processor circuit before the updating process. The road map may be used to determine, for different virtual geopositions, an associated virtual measurement value of the at least one mapped environmental characteristic The virtual measurement values may be used to generate, for the virtual geopositions, a concatenated data record which describes the virtual journey. Newly received concatenated data records of real journeys of measuring motor vehicles and the concatenated data records of the virtual journey may be combined. The updated road map may be calculated from the combined received concatenated data records of real journeys and the virtual concatenated record.