Is there a free (public domain, GFDL, etc) world location database? Like, countries, subdivisions, provincies, cities and the like? (No, ISO 3166 only goes one level beyond countries, and it still doesn't include the new regions of my country; we can do better).
If not, then we should build one.
I propose a simple tree model. Let's start with the World.
At the country and continent level, use the English names.
Beyond the country level, the names should be the official native ones. For countries with more than one official names, perhaps a code should be used instead. You should include the English name too.
For each item, a link to the wikipedia article should be included.
For cities and other spots, a latitude/longitude pointer should be added (the one that links to the wikipedia map resources).
Example:
... to be continued...