Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's Rockstar Treatment by Rolling Stone Outrages Readers

US magazine Rolling Stone has sparked outrage by putting Boston Marathon bomber suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover of its latest issue.

A picture of Tsarnaev, 19, is splashed over the front page with the headline 'The Bomber. How a popular, promising student was failed by his family, fell into radical Islam and became a monster.'

The editorial decision sparked the fury of many readers, who have accused the magazine of anti-Americanism and "glamourising terrorism."

"Really?! You douchebags, how dare you publicize him like he's a rockstar!! Despicable," Brian Stone commented on Rolling Stone's Facebook page.

The photo used on the cover was posted online by Tsarnaev himself before he was arrested at the end of a massive manhunt in April.

"Being from Boston, I take this personally offensive," commented Jenna DeMato Hebert .

"Kills a few people makes the cover of Rolling Stone. Shameful," said Adam Baratta

"Jeff Bauman, who lost both legs, should be on cover," added Facebook user Harper Philbin, in one of the more than 10,000 comments the cover image has received.

Rolling Stone's controversial issue is due to hit the stands in August.

"Contributing editor Janet Reitman delivers a deeply reported account of the life and times of Boston bomber [Dzhokhar] Tsarnaev," the magazine promo reads.

"Reitman spent the last two months interviewing dozens of sources - childhood and high school friends, teachers, neighbours and law enforcement agents, many of whom spoke for the first time about the case - to deliver a riveting and heartbreaking account of how a charming kid with a bright future became a monster."

Prosecutors believe Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan, built, planted and ultimately detonated the two bombs which ripped through the marathon on April 15, before shooting dead a university police officer in the days after the attack.

Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured in the blast. Tamerlan was killed four days later in a shootout with police.

Earlier this month, Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty to 30 charges relating to the bombings, including using a weapon of mass destruction to kill, during his first public appearance before a Boston court.