Note:
Since Blender 2.44 all new faces are selected.
Example:
import Blender
from Blender import Mesh
me = Mesh.Get("Plane") # get the mesh data called "Plane"
v = me.verts # get vertices
if len(v) >= 6: # if there are enough vertices...
me.faces.extend(v[1],v[2],v[3]) # add a single edge
l=[(v[0],v[1]),[0,2,4,5]]
me.faces.extend(l) # add another face
Warning:
Faces using the first vertex at the 3rd or 4th location in the
face's vertex list will have their order rotated so that the zero
index on in the first or second location in the face. When creating
face data with UVs or vertex colors, you may need to work around
this, either by checking for zero indices yourself or by adding a
dummy first vertex to the mesh that can be removed when your script
has finished.