You are looking at the HTML representation of the XML format.
HTML is good for debugging, but is unsuitable for application use.
Specify the format parameter to change the output format.
To see the non HTML representation of the XML format, set format=xml.
See the complete documentation, or API help for more information. 
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<api>
  <query-continue>
    <alllinks galcontinue="Binary_countoffs|89" />
  </query-continue>
  <query>
    <pages>
      <page pageid="17" missing="" />
      <page pageid="48" ns="0" title="Mapmaking Tips by Attilitus" />
      <page pageid="56" ns="0" title="Set Doodad State" />
      <page pageid="69" ns="0" title="Modding Files Overview" />
      <page pageid="88" ns="0" title="Virtual hit points" />
      <page pageid="92" ns="0" title="Counter Arithmetic" />
      <page pageid="102" ns="0" title="Changing Minerals Mined" />
      <page pageid="125" ns="0" title="Unit Coordinate Detection" />
    </pages>
  </query>
</api>