Over the last fortnight message boards and social media platforms used by gamers have filled with videos and chatter of the virtual clashes as well insults and recriminations on both sides of the ideological divide.

GTA Online is an open world game that allows dozens of players to explore and fight each other through the streets of a sprawling, fictional American city.

After a recent expansion pack was released earlier this month, gamers in Hong Kong noticed they could now dress their avatars in the clothing of their movement, which is pushing for greater democratic freedoms and police accountability.

They donned black clothes, gas masks and yellow helmets and went about throwing petrol bombs, trashing subway stations and attacking police — a virtual re-enactment of the protests that have upended the financial hub.