Unlike most other linux distros, the PATH environment variable cannot be set in Ubuntu by adding an assignment statement in the ~/.bash_profile script. This has been annoying me for some time and I was trying different things until I eventually thought of googling for it. Here’s how it is done.
There is a file called /etc/environment. This is where you set the path variable. Goto terminal, type

$ sudo vim /etc/environment

to edit it.

Ubuntu is known for wandering away from conventions, but why did they have to change this? The /etc/environment file is ok, the ~/.bash_profile method doesn’t work anymore. That means, there is no standard startup script in Ubuntu except the System -> Preferences -> Sessions dialog. Nobody would want the terminal to lose its power. I hope the Ubuntu developers know what they’re doing.