Part of the painting. Click the link the below to see the whole thing

This detail shows the Queen, Stalin, Lincoln and Mao, among others, sitting around a table

This detail from the painting includes Prince Charles, George W Bush, Kofi Annan, Luciano Pavarotti and Yasser Arafat

This extraordinary painting depicting 103 figures from world history in striking detail has become the latest internet hit.

Click to here to view the whole painting (2600 pixels wide)

Message boards have erupted with contests to identify all those featured, who range from instantly recognisable figures like Gandhi to some more obscure figures such as Liu Xiang, the Chinese hurdler who limped out of the Beijing Olympics in the summer.

An element of mystery also surrounds that origins of the picture, which appears to have drawn inspiration from Raphael's Renaissance fresco The School of Athens.

While the figures in Raphael's painting were all ancient philosophers, there appears little to connect the characters in the recent work which finds room for historical greats like Napoleon as well as Bill Gates, the bespectacled face of modern success.

But eagle-eyed observers have spotted clues to the painting's provenance in some of those depicted.

Many of the figures in the painting – including Chinese communist leaders and poets – have little profile outside of Asia.

And the inclusion of Juan Antonio Samaranch, the career bureaucrat and former International Olympic Committee chairman would be inexplicable unless the artist came from China, where Mr Samaranch is well-known as the man who awarded Beijing the 2008 Games.

Another clue comes from the three undistinguished men in contemporary dress who survey the scene from behind a wall at the top right of the picture.

Internet detectives have identified these three as little-known Chinese/Taiwanese artists named as Dudu, Li Tiezi, and Zhang An.

They created the oil painting – titled Discussing the Divine Comedy with Dante – in 2006, although it has only become a viral internet hit in the past few weeks.

Alastair Sooke, art writer at The Daily Telegraph, said that the work reflected a trend of contemporary Chinese artists adopting Western styles and subjects.

"But the Dante reference makes us wonder whether we are looking at some nether-circle deep inside the Inferno: this is a vision of Celebrity Hell," he added.

Note:  If you click on the link and enlarge the picture and click the larger picture you are able to view entire picture up close.  You can also move the picture up, down, east and west to get a better view of the faces.