1. A method for selecting a data center of a Program Execution Service (PES) platform, the method comprising: under control of a PES platform that includes a number of data centers, at least some of the number of data centers capable of providing a user with access to one or more compute nodes hosted by said at least some of the number of data centers, the compute nodes comprising virtual desktops that enable the user to access a plurality of services provided by the PES platform: receiving a request at the PES platform to obtain access to a compute node from a computing device of the user; identifying a geographic location of the computing device; determining, from the number of data centers, a set of data centers that include the compute node; calculating, for each data center from the set of data centers, a latency factor based, at least in part, on the geographic location of the computing device; identifying a data center from the set of data centers based, at least in part, on the latency factor of the data center, wherein the latency factor of the data center is lower than at least some of the other data centers from the set of data centers; and granting the user of the computing device access to the compute node at the data center thereby enabling the user to access the compute node while reducing the impact of latency on the user compared with accessing the compute node from the at least some of the other data centers from the set of data centers.