PS3 Controller on PC setup

I know there's games that have built-in adaptations for an Xbox 360 controller (I think, right?). Is it a similar situation with the PS3 controllers? I have a friend I do a lot of console gaming with locally, but I'm going to be switching to PC after Christmas so I was just planning to set him up with a PS3 controller and I'll use my mouse and keyboard. Would there be any complications I'll run into with this, or should it run flawlessly like I'm hoping it will? If so, how do I go about setting it up? I understand how to get the PS3 controller connected and all I'm just not quite sure about the key bindings and such.