NEW YORK - Thor star Chris Hemsworth was named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive on Tuesday in a live broadcast of the late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Hemsworth, 31, appeared via Skype clad in a loose-fitting T-shirt with his face obscured and his voice disguised electronically, answering questions from the audience about his age, whether he was single and if he was an actor as they tried to guess his identity.

"Anything you would like to say to the men who lost, specifically Matt Damon?" Kimmel asked, referring to the actor who is known as his faux nemesis.

"I like everything there is about being sexy, to pursing the lips the right way to squinting at the essential time. Thank you, Matt, and all the other previous intelligent men. This is based on an IQ test, not just the physical appearance," the actor replied.

The star of Thor, sequel Thor: The Dark World and The Avengers gestured towards his face and thanked his parents "for putting this all together" after he was correctly identified by an audience member and his full appearance was revealed.

Reacting to the news, Washington Post's Emily Yahr lamented that the Australian star was not on anyone's prediction list for the coveted honour and yet he won it.

Guardians Of The Galaxy star Chris Pratt and future Oscars host Neil Patrick Harris had been expected to take the crown.

Hemsworth won despite having no movies this year, though he has movies such as the Avengers: Age Of Ultron slated out next year.

Pratt's fans were riled by the news, with one writing online, "Chris Pratt got robbed of the #SexiestManAlive!"

Hemsworth replaced last year's cover, rocker Adam Levine.

He has three children with wife, Spanish actress-model Elsa Pataky, 38. He will appear on the cover of People in the issue published on Friday.