Commuting - padded underwear

Hi All,
I'm a newbie to bicycle commuting, and loving it. Although the saddle can get a little uncomfortable after a while of not shifting my weight as it were. It's not a huge issue riding the 3.5 km (2 mile) to the office, however, riding longer distances the ol' butt gets a bit sore. Stopping pedalling and moving my backside a bit alleviates the problem fine, just as we all do when sitting in a firm chair. However, it would be good to be able to peddle for longer without having to do that. I've heard of padded underwear for cyclists and wonder if anyone can tell me whether that helps to cushion at the sitting bones. Also, is it underwear that you could normally wear throughout the day as you would with regular underwear? Thanks in advance.
Cheers,
=S=

That would be a load to carry around all day. They make bike baggies with bike shorts sewed inside. Change at work.

I wear these liner shorts on a few occasions under my casual shorts or pants when I do not have an opportunity to change once I am at my destination.

Liner Shorts (http://makeashorterlink.com/?Q57D2321C)

Thanks Shokhead, Trickdog. Perhaps i should just consider taking a change of clothes. Though, thinking about it, after a whole day in the office i'm not sure i'd be bothered changing for the bike ride home. Ok, so how effective are the specialized bike shorts? Do they provide more comfort, or are they just to prevent chafing? And what about the gel based seat covers, are they any good?
Cheers.

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=19943&subcategory_ID=1123

Baggies work pretty good and no to the gel cover. The wrong seat and no short will help.

I rode 54 miles once in regular old boxer briefs and cotton shorts. The only problem I had was chafing. The trick is in the saddle - a Brooks B17. It took about 600 miles to break the danged thing in, but it was worth it. To solve the chafing problem on longer rides I wear Pearl Izumi liner shorts with Prana Mojo climbing shorts. I could never find baggie shorts that worked for me. The Pearl Izumi liner shorts are just like regular bike shorts but the material is lighter weight and perforated. Spandex bike shorts are functionally superior for bike riding, but when you get off the bike and stop to eat lunch it feels like you're walking around naked.

Side note: avoid Andiamo padded underwear - they are horrible.

I spoke to my local bike store today and they said that they've worn the padded underwear around the place after riding and was fine, but, it does get hot and they cautioned against keeping them on all day, on the hot days. I looked at the shy shorts and they would seem to be a good idea to get around the problem of what you referred to with walking around in spandex. I imagine the same caution goes with wearing shy shorts all day on hot days though. So, i'm starting to think that a combination of things will be the best solution - sometimes wear padded underwear but take normal underwear to change later; other times shy shorts could be the go, or spandex.

I've wondered about Andiamo padded underwear - Riv stocks them and recommends them. What are the problems? (i.e., why are they horrible)

Trial and error can get itchy