Social media users pay tribute to David Bowie with lightning bolt 'twibbon'

Over 22,000 people have paid tribute to the late artist with his trademark lightning bolt facepaint

The cover of David Bowie's Aladdin Sane album has become one of the most enduring images of the late artist (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Social media users are changing their profile pictures to honour David Bowie, who died on Sunday at the age of 69.

Much like the French flag overlay that Facebook introduced in the wake of the recent Paris attacks, the David Bowie 'twibbon' superimposes a distinctive lightning bolt over the top of the user's profile picture - making them look like the singer himself on the cover of his Aladdin Sane album, an image of Bowie that has since become iconic.

All users have to do to add the lightning bolt is head to Twibbon's website and sign in with Twitter or Facebook - it'll then let you resize and move the lightning bolt to the right position, and will update your profile picture at the click of a button.

So far, over 22,000 people have paid tribute to the legendary singer with the distinctive twibbon.

On Monday, after the news of Bowie's death broke, fans took to the streets all over the world to pay their respects.

In Brixton, where the singer was born in 1947, hundreds of fans (many of them sporting homemade lightning bolt facepaint) gathered at a street party to sing hits from Bowie's 50-year-long career.

Tributes also poured in from his friends in the music world, including Mick Jagger and Brian Eno, who both collaborated with him on a number of influential projects.

Jagger, lead singer of The Rolling Stones, called Bowie an "inspiration" and a "true original," adding: "He was my friend, I will never forget him."

The Twibbon isn't the only remembrance campaign that has sprung up online since Bowie's death - a petition on Change.org has been created in Italy, which urges God to send him back to Earth.