A method for operating a navigation system and a navigation system for a vehicle, in which data regarding geographic positions of the vehicle are ascertained by a positioning system and transmitted to an electronic data processing device having access to a database and a digital road map, on the basis of this data the location of the vehicle on the digital road map is determined and destination guidance instructions are output visually and/or acoustically to the driver of the vehicle, wherein additional information can be stored in the navigation system and can be retrieved as necessary by the driver and/or other passengers in the vehicle and output via the navigation system, this additional information being loaded into the navigation system in the form of program "navlets" which are usable by the driver and/or other passengers in the vehicle.