  First results of X-ray source population studies in nearby galaxies show the
potential of XMM-Newton observations. I will report on first XMM-Newton M31
results and on three of our XMM-Newton projects, an X-ray source population
study in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs), a deep raster survey of M33, and an
investigation of the hot interstellar medium (ISM) in the halo of edge-on
galaxies. XMM-Newton results on several other galaxies and sources within are
presented by other authors in these proceedings. Our MC study is build up of
deep pointings probing MC sources down to 10^33 erg s^-1 and shallower
pointings to confirm candidates from our ROSAT derived lists of X-ray binaries,
super-soft sources, and supernova remnants. First XMM-Newton detections of a
455 s pulsar in the Small Magellanic Cloud and the results of the Large
Magellanic Cloud deep field confirm the validity of our strategy.
  Our M33 raster pointing aims for luminosities as low as 10^35 erg s^-1, a
factor of 10 below the sensitivity limit of the ROSAT observations. The survey
will allow us to characterize the sources using extent, spectra, hardness
ratios and time variability to build up an unprecedented census of the X-ray
source content of M33. Of specific interest are the active source in the
nuclear area and the diffuse emission in the inner disk.
  XMM-Newton observations of the active galaxy NGC 3079 and of the starburst
galaxy NGC 253 are used to characterize the point-like sources and the hot ISM
in the disk and from the halo of these galaxies.
