Rolling Stone magazine defended its use of the image of accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover of its August 2013 issue released on Wednesday.

Ahead of the music magazine's delivery, social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter were abuzz with protest over the glamourized image of Tsarnaev, made to look like a teen heartthrob instead of a bombing suspect.

In a statement, Rolling Stone said, "Our hearts go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, and our thoughts are always with them and their families. The cover story we are publishing this week falls within the traditions of journalism and Rolling Stone's long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day. The fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young, and in the same age group as many of our readers, makes it all the more important for us to examine the complexities of this issue and gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happens."

Many of those who commented on social media expressed the insensitivity of Rolling Stones in placing the accused bomber on the cover and said they would either not buy that particular issue or would cut their subscription.

Some retailers have also announced on Wednesday that they will not carry Rolling Stones in their outlets. Among them are two stores based in New England - the pharmacy chain CVS in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and convenience store chain Tedeschi Food Shops in Rockland, Massachusetts.

More retailers are expected to follow the move as a sign of protest.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino also issued a statement addressed to Jann Wenner, the publisher of Rolling Stone.

"Your August 3 cover rewards a terrorist with celebrity treatment. It is ill-conceived, at best, and re-affirms a terrible message that destruction gains fame for killers and their 'causes.' There may be valuable journalism behind your sensational treatment, though we can't know because almost all you release is the cover," he said.

"To respond to you in anger is to feed into your obvious marketing strategy. So, I write to you instead to put the focus where you could have: on the brave and strong survivors and on the thousands of people - their family and friends, volunteers, first responders, doctors, nurses, and donors - who have come to their side. Among those we lost, those who survived, and those who help carry them forward, there are artists and musicians and dancers and writers. They have dreams and plans. They struggle and strive. The survivors of the Boston attacks deserve Rolling Stone cover stories, though I no longer feel that Rolling Stone deserves them," The New York Post quoted the mayor.

The bomber has pleaded not guilty to the April 15 explosions which killed three people and injured hundreds more.