WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department has created a cybercrime Web site that describes what computer crime is and how to report it, the department's latest thinking on privacy vs. policing on the Internet and even how the government searches and seizes computers.

The Internet site was developed by the criminal division's computer crime and intellectual property section even as the department and the FBI engaged in a difficult search for hackers who temporarily shut down more than a dozen popular e-commerce sites -- and the FBI's own Web page -- in February.

The department also is gathering opinion from industry, privacy groups and others before proposing new legislation to police the Internet.

''Www.cybercrime.gov provides information that can be useful from the classroom to the courtroom, ... (to) children, parents and teachers; lawyers, law enforcement and the media.'' Assistant Attorney General James K. Robinson said Monday.

The main Web page, at www.cybercrime.gov, has twelve sections:

Reports, press releases, speech texts and testimony: http://www.cybercrime.gov/docs.html.

Laws against computer crime and press releases on significant hacker cases: http://www.cybercrime.gov/compcrime.html.

The department's 200-page manual on prosecuting violations of intellectual property rights: http://www.cybercrime.gov/ip.html.

Materials on electronic commerce and officials' testimony about Internet gambling and pharmaceutical sales: http://www.cybercrime.gov/ecommerce.html.

Reports on the prosecution of Internet hate speech and cyberstalking: http://www.cybercrime.gov/speech.html.

Federal efforts to protect the national infrastructure that delivers essential services: http://www.cybercrime.gov/critinfr.html.

Crimes facilitated by computer use: http://www.cybercrime.gov/crimes.html.

The department manual on searching and seizing computers: http://www.cybercrime.gov/searching.html.

Answers to frequently asked questions about encryption: http://www.cybercrime.gov/crypto.html.

How to report privacy violations for investigation: http://www.cybercrime.gov/privacy.html.

International efforts against computer crime and child pornography: http://www.cybercrime.gov/intl.html.

Data on law enforcement cooperation against computer crime: http://www.cybercrime.gov/enforcement.html.