Python is an interpreted, general purpose programming language that can be used for both scripting and programming. It allows programmers to write code that can be executed on different platforms like Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. Python code is portable and can be used for tasks like system programming, web development, data analysis, and more. Some major companies that use Python include Google, YouTube, Intel, and IBM. Python is popular due to its simple syntax, object-oriented capabilities, extensive libraries, and availability on all major platforms.