Booting Chrome OS in a VM will likely disappoint, since you won't have graphics acceleration (Aura will be slow) and you'll be using the BIOS boot method (which

Booting Chrome OS in a VM will likely disappoint, since you won't have graphics acceleration (Aura will be slow) and you'll be using the BIOS boot method (which chainloads to one of the GPT partitions containing the kernel and is generally slow compared to a direct uBoot (ARM) or Core Boot (x86_64) boot). If you're in America, I'd recommend trying a Chromebook out at a local Best Buy. Failing that, throwing an old Hexxeh USB build on a USB key and booting it will give you a first approximation, but you'll miss out on things like the proprietary EME extensions that enable Netflix and other little details that make Chromebooks usable.