CHINA'S 'social credit' system blacklists "lazy" citizens who get into debt or spend their time playing video games in a creepy initiative that could have come straight out of Black Mirror.

Analysing users' social media habits and online shopping purchases, the nightmarish system also grants real financial credit to citizens whose lifestyles are deemed to be more wholesome.

While the social credit scheme will become mandatory in China in 2020, it is currently being tested in pilot schemes which have been rolled out through private financial companies.

The most high profile of these is Sesame Credit which has been developed by Ant Financial and uses computer algorithms to score people from 350 to 950, reports The Guardian.

Likened to an episode of dystopian horror series Black Mirror, Sesame Credit rates people on factors including "interpersonal relationships" and consumer habits including buying video games.

It appears the authoritarian one-party state believes that someone who plays a PlayStation or an Xbox is an "idle person", reports the BBC.

Those with a low-rating are "blacklisted" meaning they are unable to book a plane flight, prevented from renting or buying property and are unable to secure a loan or stay in a luxury hotel, reports MarketPlace.org.