Decks, Patios, Porches and Docks - Underground wiring for new patio

I am planning on putting in a patio this weekend, however before I do it I need to figure out how to get electricity to the outer edge of the patio. We eventually want to put some lights/outlets over there, but not sure exactly what yet.

My biggest problem is I have a path leading from the patio around the side of the house, which goes directly over where I will want to run the wire underground. So instead of guessing at what wire I will need and burying it, I was thinking instead of just buying some PVC pipe and putting it under the path, then when I finally decide to run wire out there I can just run it through the pipe instead of ripping up the path.

Is this a good idea? Is PVC good for underground? How did other people run wire under their patio? Any advice would be appreciated as I'm fairly inexpierenced in this area.

Thanks!
Shawn

Well I stopped by home depot on my way home last night, and picked up some PVC conduit. This stuff is made for electrical wiring underground, so it looks like it should work great.