Just to make this one clear.
normal maps, or DOT3 bumpmaps, are a another form of bumpmaps.
DOT3 bumpmaps do not use a heightmap, but essentially a map of vectors (the pixel normals) that are coded into 3 values: red (->x), green (->y), and blue (->z), which define bumps in a surface... there are converters or plugins that can produce normal maps from either heightmaps or high-res models.
As an example, a normal map with absoulutely no bumps would be pure blue. When the bumps come in, it will also get the other two colors (red, green). I don't want to go into detail now because understanding normal maps in detail means i would have to explain how lighting is computed on the graphics card.
Those 3 values i spoke of are then applied to the lighting on the surface pixel-wise. This is why normal maps are also called are called DOT3, every dot represents a 3 value-vector.
The advantage of DOT3 is that it provides pixel-precise lighting instead of the normal vertex-precise lighting.
DOT3 bumpmapping should be found in the same section as bump maps as i remember