On The Geek Stuff site there's a recent post showing you how to set up and configure Nginx to execute PHP using PHP-FPM on your linux-based system. (A related post shows some of the differences between Nginx and Apache on the same site.)

Nginx is pronounced as “Engine-X”, which is a web server and reverse proxy server. Nginx is well known for its speed and ability to handle large number of requests simultaneously with optimal use of resources. PHP-FPM stands for “PHP-FastCGI process manager”. [...] This tutorial provides instructions on how to install and configure Nginx with PHP-FPM, which will help you to execute PHP programs in Nginx.

He's broken it up into five simple steps, complete with the exact commands you'll need to make it work:

• Install Nginx
• Install PHP5-FPM
• Add PHP Configuration to Nginx
• Set listen Parameter in php5-fpm www.conf
• Restart the Nginx and PHP5-FPM and Test it