diff --git a/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir.xml b/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir.xml
index 011ad437cca..adbab648798 100644
--- a/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir.xml
+++ b/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir.xml
@@ -241,7 +241,7 @@
             <field name="view_id" ref="sequence_view_tree"/>
             <field name="context">{'active_test': False}</field>
         </record>
-        <menuitem id="next_id_5" name="Sequences" parent="base.menu_config"/>
+        <menuitem id="next_id_5" name="Sequences &amp; Identifiers" parent="base.menu_config"/>
         <menuitem action="ir_sequence_form" id="menu_ir_sequence_form" parent="next_id_5"/>
 
         <!-- Sequences Types -->
@@ -1221,7 +1221,7 @@
             <field name="model">ir.model.data</field>
             <field name="type">form</field>
             <field name="arch" type="xml">
-                <form string="Object Identifiers">
+                <form string="External Identifiers">
                     <field name="name"/>
                     <field name="module"/>
                     <field name="model"/>
@@ -1239,7 +1239,7 @@
             <field name="model">ir.model.data</field>
             <field name="type">tree</field>
             <field name="arch" type="xml">
-                <tree string="Object Identifiers">
+                <tree string="External Identifiers">
                     <field name="module"/>
                     <field name="name"/>
                     <field name="model"/>
@@ -1253,7 +1253,7 @@
             <field name="model">ir.model.data</field>
             <field name="type">search</field>
             <field name="arch" type="xml">
-                <search string="Object Identifiers">
+                <search string="External Identifiers">
                     <filter icon="terp-camera_test"
                         string="Updatable"
                         domain="[('noupdate', '=', False)]"/>
@@ -1293,7 +1293,7 @@
         <menuitem action="action_model_fields" id="ir_model_model_fields" parent="base.next_id_9"/>
 
         <record id="action_model_data" model="ir.actions.act_window">
-            <field name="name">Object Identifiers</field>
+            <field name="name">External Identifiers</field>
             <field name="res_model">ir.model.data</field>
             <field name="view_type">form</field>
             <field name="view_id" ref="view_model_data_list"/>
diff --git a/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir_model.py b/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir_model.py
index a9d2a21b7a5..1ae54af0cb9 100644
--- a/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir_model.py
+++ b/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir_model.py
@@ -561,14 +561,27 @@ class ir_model_access(osv.osv):
 ir_model_access()
 
 class ir_model_data(osv.osv):
+    """Holds external identifier keys for records in the database.
+       This has two main uses:
+
+           * allows easy data integration with third-party systems,
+             making import/export/sync of data possible, as records
+             can be uniquely identified across multiple systems
+           * allows tracking the origin of data installed by OpenERP
+             modules themselves, thus making it possible to later
+             update them seamlessly.
+    """
     _name = 'ir.model.data'
     __logger = logging.getLogger('addons.base.'+_name)
     _order = 'module,model,name'
     _columns = {
-        'name': fields.char('XML Identifier', required=True, size=128, select=1),
-        'model': fields.char('Object', required=True, size=64, select=1),
+        'name': fields.char('External Identifier', required=True, size=128, select=1,
+                            help="External Key/Identifier that can be used for "
+                                 "data integration with third-party systems"),
+        'model': fields.char('Model Name', required=True, size=64, select=1),
         'module': fields.char('Module', required=True, size=64, select=1),
-        'res_id': fields.integer('Resource ID', select=1),
+        'res_id': fields.integer('Record ID', select=1,
+                                 help="ID of the target record in the database"),
         'noupdate': fields.boolean('Non Updatable'),
         'date_update': fields.datetime('Update Date'),
         'date_init': fields.datetime('Init Date')
@@ -580,7 +593,7 @@ class ir_model_data(osv.osv):
         'module': ''
     }
     _sql_constraints = [
-        ('module_name_uniq', 'unique(name, module)', 'You cannot have multiple records with the same id for the same module !'),
+        ('module_name_uniq', 'unique(name, module)', 'You cannot have multiple records with the same external ID in the same module!'),
     ]
 
     def __init__(self, pool, cr):
diff --git a/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir_translation.py b/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir_translation.py
index 940909b0d71..813ab514b0f 100644
--- a/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir_translation.py
+++ b/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir_translation.py
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ class ir_translation(osv.osv):
         # These two columns map to ir_model_data.module and ir_model_data.name.
         # They are used to resolve the res_id above after loading is done.
         'module': fields.char('Module', size=64, help='Maps to the ir_model_data for which this translation is provided.'),
-        'xml_id': fields.char('XML Id', size=128, help='Maps to the ir_model_data for which this translation is provided.'),
+        'xml_id': fields.char('External ID', size=128, help='Maps to the ir_model_data for which this translation is provided.'),
     }
 
     def _auto_init(self, cr, context={}):
diff --git a/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir_ui_view.py b/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir_ui_view.py
index f875ddf0b7e..90990834c9b 100644
--- a/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir_ui_view.py
+++ b/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir_ui_view.py
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ class view(osv.osv):
         'arch': fields.text('View Architecture', required=True),
         'inherit_id': fields.many2one('ir.ui.view', 'Inherited View', ondelete='cascade', select=True),
         'field_parent': fields.char('Child Field',size=64),
-        'xml_id': fields.function(osv.osv.get_xml_id, type='char', size=128, string="XML ID",
+        'xml_id': fields.function(osv.osv.get_xml_id, type='char', size=128, string="External ID",
                                   method=True, help="ID of the view defined in xml file"),
     }
     _defaults = {