Los Angeles: Despite investigators' claims that she committed suicide, fans of Marilyn Monroe around the world still refuse to believe it, and the tragic and mysterious death of the Hollywood legend still fuels her popularity 40 years after her death.

"I think many of the fans are intrigued by Marilyn not just because of who she is but because of how she died," said Jill Adams, president of the association "Forever Marilyn", one of the numerous fan clubs, which got together this weekend in California to commemorate the anniversary of her death.

"Her death was very mysterious, it was never properly investigated, and there are a lot of strange things about the autopsy that just don't add up to a suicide," said Leslie Kasperowicz, of the "Immortal Marilyn" association.

A few days before the 40th anniversary of her death, hundreds of fans from as far a field as Europe and Australia invaded the streets of Los Angeles where Marilyn Monroe look-alikes attract the curious gazes of tourists.

"We do this because we love her and we want the world to know that we are still thinking of her," said Greg Schreiner, president of "Marilyn Remembered", an association that will gather on August 3 at the small Hollywood cemetery where Marilyn is buried.

On the morning of August 5, 1962, several hours after her housekeeper discovered her naked body stretched across the bed with a phone off the hook and an empty bottle of pills by her side, Norma Jean Baker was declared dead at the age of 36.

Forensic experts announced the cause of death as suicide.

However, like a majority of her fans, Adams believes the overdose was probably accidental.

"I personally think it was an accidental overdose. According to everyone who knew her, this had happened before and was not an unlikely scenario for her," she said. Discrepancies regarding the scene of her death and the investigation that followed make many fans think that the authorities had something to hide.

"There was certainly some sort of cover up, that's fairly obvious. Her house was cleaned, her address book disappeared, things like that," said Kasperowicz.

"Clearly, she had some sort of connection with the Kennedys. She was having an affair either with one or both of them. Whether or not they were trying to hide an affair or something more is what makes her death so mysterious," she added.

Whether it is due to the circumstances of her death, her fascinating life, or the rumours surrounding her romance with John F Kennedy or his brother Robert, Marilyn Monroe's legend lives on 40 years after her death.