US engineer creates replica of Thor's hammer only he can pick up

A US engineer has pranked Californians by making a replica of Thor's hammer that not even the Marvel Norse god himself could pick up.

Equipped with a fingerprint sensor, no one else can physically pick it up either except for its creator, Allen Pan.

The Californian electrical engineer developed the replica of 'Mjolnir' by using electricity to create a magnetic field, cnet.com reports.

When placed on a metal surface, the magnetic pull makes it too heavy to lift, unless Mr Pan picks it up and activates its thumbprint sensor.

"You have to be worthy to lift it," he said.

Mr Pan uploaded a video on Sunday of the attempts of passers-by in Venice Beach to lift the hammer, where it has received more than two million views.

He has not revealed whether he intends to sell the hammer commercially.