Nowadays, the use of XML as a description language has become state of the art within the automation and control domain. Use cases and application scenarios are manifold, resulting in heterogeneous XML document structures. However, a common basic model for XML applications suitable for the automation domain is still lacking. This paper describes requirements and principle structures for such a common model, which has been developed for use within PROFIBUS and PROFINET systems. An application example is included to prove the feasibility of the content model and the infrastructure definitions.