WWW- Craigslist, fighting liability for alleged discriminatory housing postings, is getting a little help from online compadres Google Inc., Amazon.com Inc., AOL and Yahoo Inc., reports the National Law Journal.

The online companies (which also have a lot at stake in this suit) last week filed an amicus brief in the U.S. district court in Chicago, warning that ruling against Craigslist could have “extremely negative implications” for the future of online services.

eBay Inc., which owns 25 percent of Craigslist, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, also signed on.

The lawsuit claims that Craigslist violated the Fair Housing Act by allowing users to post ads that discriminate in seeking tenants. Craigslist is taking refuge under the 1996 Communications Decency Act, claiming immunity from such liability.

The case is scheduled to be heard in August.

A similar case in California against Roommate.com is on appeal to the Ninth Circuit.