The technology news site said the directive was issued April 19and is the sharpest restriction on troops' online activities since the start of the Iraq war.

The report said that the new rules could mean the end of military blogs, because they require that a commander be consulted before every blog update. Failure to do so could result in a court-martial or "administrative, disciplinary, contractual, or criminal action," Wired quoted the new rules as saying.

"This is the final nail in the coffin for combat blogging," said retired paratrooper Matthew Burden, editor of The Blog of War anthology. "No more military bloggers writing about their experiences in the combat zone. This is the best PR the military has - it's most honest voice out of the war zone - and it's being silenced."

The guidelines also affect civilians working for the military,Army contractors and even soldiers' families, the report said.