LONDON (AP) -- A panel of experts is publishing a first-of-its-kind rulebook on cyberwarfare, a manual aimed at applying the venerable practice of international law to the emerging field of military hacking.

The officers and academics behind the Tallinn Manual -- so-called because it was devised in the Estonian capital -- say they aren't proposing new rules to govern the world's rapidly expanding electronic armies.

Instead they argue that laws protecting neutral nations and civilians apply in cyberspace just as they do on the traditional battlefield.

U.S. Naval War College Professor Michael Schmidt says the manual provides guidance for military leaders considering how to wage war online.

The manual is an unofficial document, but academics say it could provide important guidance as militaries across the world update their rulebooks for the information age.