I can tell you only from my experience, it may be something that is across the board or just because of the way my company sets up networking.
If I connect to a vpn connection that goes through our network but is not a vpn to vpn tunnel AND the vpn that I connect to allows it, I connect and end up using their internet connect to surf. I can ping comps on their network..as long as I am given a local ip on their network and I cannot reach the computers on my local network while I am connected.
If I connect via vpn connection that is a one to one NAT through our network vpn and their network vpn, I can connect to their network and ping the computers I am "allowed" to and also can reach the computers on my network and use my internet connection for surfing. Generally speaking this works great unless the remote vpn is using the same subnet...then other things come into play like hiding subnets which can become complicated but usually is not too bad depending on the vpn devices being used.
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"It's become appallingly clear that our technology has surpassed our humanity." --Albert Einstein