How to search attribute values

Do you mean like a depth first search?

package
{
          import flash.display.Sprite;
          public class XmlAttributes extends Sprite
          {
                    protected var xml:XML = <root>
                                                                                          <country id="0">
                                                                                                    <states id="0_0">
                                                                                                              <city id="0_0_0">
                                                                                                                        <village id="0_0_0_0"></village>
                                                                                                                        <village id="0_0_0_1"></village>
                                                                                                                        <village id="0_0_0_2"></village>
                                                                                                              </city>
                                                                                                    </states>
                                                                                                    <states id="0_1">
                                                                                                    </states>
                                                                                          </country>
                                                                                          <country id="1"></country>
                                                                                </root>;
                    public function XmlAttributes()
                    {
                              super();
                              var result:XML = depthFirstSearch(xml);
                              trace(result.localName());
                    }
                    public function depthFirstSearch(node:XML):XML
                    {
                              for each (var child:XML in node.children())
                              {
                                        if (("@id" in child) && (child.@id == "0_0_0_1"))
                                                  return child;
                                        else
                                        {
                                                  var result:XML = depthFirstSearch(child);
                                                  if(result)
                                                            return result;
                                        }
                              }
                              return null;
                    }
          }
}

The XML tags in the code example above are being stripped - not sure why they cannot be encoded / escaped.  It is the XML from your example.