Python compilers

[Rob Hazlewood]

Hi,
I'm thinking of learning python, and am a little confused as to the 
overall structure of python programming.

Would I be right in saying that Python is an interpreted language?

I know it can be run as an interpreted language, however I seem to 
remember people talking about python compilers.

Do Python compilers exist? are they efficient?

If there is a python compiler, surely it would be able to generate code 
that is as efficient as a C compiler, resulting in what would be the 
best available OO language? (having simplicity, speed)

What is the performance of python like compared to other languages such 
as C and java?

thanks in advance,
Rob