protected function _processExtends(SimpleXMLElement $element, $section, array $config = array())
    {
        if (!isset($element->$section)) {

            throw new Zend_Config_Exception("Section '$section' cannot be found");
        }

        $thisSection  = $element->$section;
        $nsAttributes = $thisSection->attributes(self::XML_NAMESPACE);

        if (isset($thisSection['extends']) || isset($nsAttributes['extends'])) {
            $extendedSection = (string) (isset($nsAttributes['extends']) ? $nsAttributes['extends'] : $thisSection['extends']);
            $this->_assertValidExtend($section, $extendedSection);

            if (!$this->_skipExtends) {
                $config = $this->_processExtends($element, $extendedSection, $config);
            }
        }

        $config = $this->_arrayMergeRecursive($config, $this->_toArray($thisSection));

        return $config;
    }