Compute Engine is a virtual machine (VM) hosting service provided by Google Cloud Platform (GCP). It allows you to create and manage virtual machines in the cloud, providing scalable computing resources for running your applications.

Here are some key features and benefits of Compute Engine:

1. Virtual Machines: Compute Engine lets you create and manage virtual machines in the cloud. You can choose from a variety of predefined machine types or customize your own machine types based on your specific requirements.

2. Scalability: With Compute Engine, you can easily scale your virtual machine instances up or down based on the needs of your application. You can add or remove instances dynamically to handle fluctuations in traffic or workload.

3. Global Infrastructure: Google Cloud has a global network of data centres, allowing you to deploy your virtual machines in multiple regions worldwide. This enables you to provide low-latency access to your applications for your users.

4. Persistent Disks: Compute Engine provides durable and high-performance persistent disks for your virtual machines. You can attach and detach disks as needed and take advantage of features like snapshots and automatic resizing.

5. Networking: Compute Engine offers advanced networking capabilities, allowing you to create and manage virtual private clouds (VPCs), define firewall rules, set up load balancing, and configure VPN connections.

6. Integration with other GCP Services: Compute Engine integrates seamlessly with other services in the Google Cloud ecosystem. You can easily connect your virtual machines to services like Cloud Storage, BigQuery, Pub/Sub, and many more.

7. Pricing: Compute Engine offers flexible pricing options, including per-second billing for VM instances, sustained use discounts for long-running workloads, and preemptible instances for low-cost, short-term computational tasks.

To get started with Compute Engine, you need to create a project in the Google Cloud Console, enable the Compute Engine API, and then you can use the command-line tool (gcloud), API, or web interface to create and manage your virtual machines.